TITLE:
Hail Sensing Probes: Feasibility Analysis for Probes to Monitor and Study Hail
AUTHORS:
Silvano Bertoldo, Claudio Lucianaz, Marco Allegretti
KEYWORDS:
Hail, Artifical Hailstones, Sensing Probes, Hail Studies, Hail Sensors, Sensors, UAV
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Remote Sensing,
Vol.5 No.1,
March
8,
2016
ABSTRACT: This work presents the feasibility study regarding the realization of hail sensing probes for remote
sensing and study of hail. The probes are designed as artificial hailstones in order to study
both the physical properties of the portion of atmosphere where the formation of hail occurs and
the modification of atmospheric conditions while the hailstones are falling to the ground. The basic
idea is to realize sensors with a similar fluid-dynamic behavior with respect to hailstones; the
density, the weight and the size of the probes are determined. Consequently, the specification of
the electronic boards, sensors, and material to realize the probes are studied and presented. The
hail sensing probes can be dropped by a plane, or potentially a UAV (Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle),
which fly above and through the clouds where the hail formation occurs. During their falling to the
ground, the sensors installed on the probe measure directly different parameters such as humidity,
temperature, pressure, acceleration. All data are sent to a receiver located on the ground. The
study of the sampling frequency of each sensor is presented, together with the analysis of the
propagation channel, in order to assure a robust communication link between probes and the
ground receiver. The energy balance is also computed. The work demonstrates that a set of this
kind of disposable sensors can be realized. They can be used for efficient monitoring operations
and studies of hail formation dynamics and conditions, thus increasing the set of instruments for
the monitoring and remote sensing of hail.