Using uncrewed aerial vehicles for wider coverage for geophysical observations

Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory (SGO) has conducted research and provided high quality data series for numerous geophysical disciplines for more than a hundred years. As the next step in developing SGO’s measurement network, we are developing capabilities to operate uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV’s), which can be equipped with a wide variety of geophysical measurement instruments, such as magnetometers, radars or imaging devices. During the first phase we will build a fleet of multirotor drones with variable characteristics. Any individual aircraft can be optimized for e.g. covering wide areas, covering high altitudes, or lifting heavy instrument payloads. In the next phase the coverage of the measurements will be further expanded by use of fixed-wing aircraft, helium balloons and rockets. In this presentation we will give an overview of the current status of the aircraft and supporting instrumentation. Also, future plans and objectives are discussed.