**Appendix** **A**

**Mission Summaries**

The following sections provide brief descriptions of the potential
missions documented by the authors to date. These missions are a direct
result of the workshops held during 2004 and 2005. A complete
description of each mission along with platform and communication
requirements may be found in Appendix D of the Assessment draft document
located on the Civil UAV Assessment website.

Missions have been separated into the following mission categories:
Earth Science, Homeland Security, and Land Management. Additional
workshops are being planned to include commercial applications.

### A1. Earth Science

The following missions have been documented primarily through the
Suborbital Science Missions of the Future Workshop and personal
interviews. Missions involve both *in situ* and remote sensing
applications. The unanimous consensus among scientists however, was that
UAV missions would augment rather than replace satellite observations.
Inclusion in this report does not imply that these missions have been
funded or otherwise validated by any government agency.

Repeat Pass Interferometry for Surface Deformation

This mission would allow measurement of the geophysical processes
associated with natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslide, and
volcanoes as they are manifested by deformations in the Earth\'s crust.
Measurements of the crustal deformation would be made by an
interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) carried by the UAV
platform.

Cloud and Aerosol Measurements

This suborbital mission would study transformations of aerosols and
gases in cloud systems in the following domains:

-   Convective systems: to include areas of Costa Rica, Southern
    Florida, and Central United States

-   Sea breeze cloud formation -- wide areas of coastal U.S.

-   Marine stratiform -- primarily the California coastal areas

-   Contrails in the Central U.S. in air traffic regions and ship tracks
    in oceans

-   Synoptic scale systems & Fronts -- in the Central U.S. region

-   Cirrus outflow -- large areas of the tropics, Southern Florida, and
    Central U.S.

Stratospheric Ozone Chemistry

The purpose of this mission is to observe changes in the stratospheric
ozone chemistry by the profiling of source gases, water, aerosols, and
temperatures in the mid-latitudes and Polar Regions in the upper
troposphere/lower stratosphere. In addition to source gases, tracers as
well as reservoir species and radicals are to be measured. The mission
will make simultaneous measurements of water vapor, total water
temperature, pressure, winds, ozone, aerosols, and polar stratospheric
clouds (PSC).

Tropospheric Pollution and Air Quality

The objective of this suborbital mission is to study the sources,
evolution, and distribution of tropospheric pollutants. The pollutants
and particles and their source emissions would be profiled on regional
to hemispheric scales from near the surface to the tropopause region.
This profiling would cause determination of where plumes of pollution
are transported and how they evolve.

Water Vapor and Total Water Measurements

The objective of this mission is to study water vapor and total water in
the tropical tropopause layer. The focus will be to profile water from
the mid-troposphere to the lower stratosphere and from the tropics into
the mid-latitudes. This study will try to determine what controls upper
troposphere/lower stratosphere water and how it impacts climate change
feedbacks.

Coastal Ocean Observations

This suborbital mission would help scientists understand further coastal
bloom compositions and the changes over time and space. In addition, the
science data will help scientists quantify the submerged aquatic
vegetation and coral reefs, measure an estuarine condition, and evaluate
how nutrients are consumed and released into the coastal zone and the
impact on the carbon cycle. The science data gathered would reduce the
uncertainties in the fluxes and coastal sea dynamics by resolving
horizontal and vertical resolution (improved spatial and temporal
resolution) and multiple sensor integration.

Active Fire, Emissions, and Plume Assessment

This suborbital mission would help Earth Science scientists further
understand the influence of disturbance on carbon cycle dynamics by
observing and measuring: the atmospheric chemistry; the thermal
intensity time-series; the plume composition, including the volume,
albedo, particle size distribution; and, the fuel type and quality. The
measurements would also provide the atmospheric composition focus area a
better understanding of fire plume chemical constituents resulting from
different fuels under different intensities of fire.

O2 and CO2 Flux Measurements

This suborbital mission would help scientists further understand the
flux of O~2~ and CO~2~ and other trace gases between the surface (land
and sea) and atmosphere and how it changes with space and time. Diurnal
time series measurements of surface to atmosphere gas flux are critical.
Specifically the mission must provide science data that contains CO~2~
and O~2~ measurements, separating out land from ocean fluxes, to less
than 0.1 parts per million.

Vegetation Structure, Composition, and Canopy Chemistry

This suborbital mission would help scientists improve the
characterization of terrestrial biomass, leaf level chemistry and canopy
water content. The science data will provide vegetation 3-dimensional
structure and information on composition and chemistry. In addition, the
observations will elucidate functional groups and physiological impacts
on the carbon cycle.

Aerosol, Cloud, and Precipitation Distribution

This mission is designed to measure the distribution in space and time
of aerosols in regions polluted by industrialized areas. The data
collected during this mission will improve the evaluation of climate
sensitivity to the forcing of aerosols by:

-   Quantifying how urban aerosol sources contribute to global aerosol
    budgets and loading

-   Detecting the indirect effect of anthropogenic aerosol on cloud
    formation and radiative forcing

-   Detecting multi-year to decadal trends in direct and indirect
    aerosol forcing.

-   Developing a statistical data base of pollution impacts downstream
    of pollution sources

Glacier and Ice Sheet Dynamics

This mission supports measurements of the dynamics of the breakup of
polar glacier and polar ice sheets. The measurements enable direct
observation of the evolution in time of ice and land topography, iceberg
volume, glacier profiles, and glacier channel profiles and provide data
for validating simulations of these dynamics and their interaction with
the ocean environment.

Radiation - Vertical Profiles of Shortwave Atmospheric Heating Rates

This mission will collect data on the vertical profile of shortwave
atmospheric heating rates in polluted and unpolluted clear and cloudy
skies. Measurements will take place in mega-cities and industrialized
regions in different climatological regimes. The data collected will
improve the evaluation of climate sensitivity to the forcing of aerosols
by:

-   Quantifying how urban aerosol sources contribute to global aerosol
    forcing

-   Detecting the indirect effect of anthropogenic aerosol on cloud
    radiative forcing

Ice Sheet Thickness and Surface Deformation

The purpose of this mission is the accurate measurement of ice sheet
thickness and crustal deformation of underlying surfaces due to ice
sheet loading and earth internal activities such as earthquakes. These
measurements are important for the study of glaciers and global warming.

Imaging Spectroscopy

The intent of this mission is to collect spectra as images to determine
surface composition, change, water vapor and sulfur dioxide in space and
time. Specifically, this mission would measure:

-   the composition and change at the surface-atmosphere interface

-   accurate and precise 3-dimensional water vapor for GPS based
    derivations

-   3-dimensional SO~2~ and other phenomena associated with active
    volcanology

-   earthquake fault optical spectroscopy properties before and after

Topographic Mapping and Topographic Change with LIDAR

The purpose of this mission would be to generate high-resolution
topographic mapping and topographic change-detection of targeted ground
areas (including those covered by vegetation) using LIDAR measurements.
All-terrain topographic change detection by repeat mapping compliments
interferometric SAR measurements of sub-centimeter to decimeter surface
levels (e.g., observe decimeter to tens of meter near-field surface
deformation in the vicinity of ruptured faults and inflating volcanoes
to understand earthquake and magmatic processes; observe decimeter to
hundreds of meters topographic change associated with landslides,
volcanic eruptions and flows, coastal and fluvial erosion and sediment
redistribution). Targets of highest priority are narrow, long,
quasi-linear features (e.g. fault zones, coastal zones) amenable to
targeted mapping or point features (e.g. volcanoes) amenable to
station-keeping monitoring.

Gravitational Acceleration Measurements

This mission would accurately measure gravitational acceleration that
varies spatially and temporally near Earth, as a consequence of the
inhomogeneity and the dynamics of Earth's mass density structure. This
spatial variation occurs at all scales, from thousands of kilometers,
due to core/mantle boundary anomalies, to sub-kilometer and smaller, due
to local topographic (or bathymetric) masses. Earth's gravitational
field defines satellite orbits, affects inertial navigation, reflects
oil and mineral deposits, and characterizes crustal geologic structure.
The equipotential surface, known as the geoid, defines a reference for
sea surface topography (leading to oceanographic current determination
through satellite ocean altimetry), and it defines the conventional
reference of heights for national vertical geodetic control.

Antarctic Exploration Surveyor

This mission would provide coordinated magnetometer, gravity, and LIDAR
measurements from a small, easily deployed autonomous low-cost aircraft
platform. These measurements would allow basic mapping to determine ice
sheet bed characteristics and ice sheet elevation. This data would allow
scientists to examine the geologic controls on ice sheet dynamics.

Magnetic Fields Measurements

The purpose of this mission would be to measure vector and tensor
magnetic fields to support comprehensive magnetic field source models
and isolate time-varying crustal field components. The magnetic field
spectrum is under-sampled in the spatial wavelengths intermediate
between the near-surface (up to 1.1 nm (2 km) ) and satellite altitude
(190 nm to 380 nm) (350 to 700 km). These measurements are critical to
producing models that account for all sources of magnetic fields from
crust to core.

Cloud Properties

This mission is designed to collect *in situ* data on cloud
microphysics. The data will allow better understanding of cloud dynamics
and lead to improved weather and climate models. Weather, climate, and
atmospheric composition focus areas will also benefit from the data
collected in this mission.

River Discharge

This mission will collect data on the volume of water flowing in a river
at multiple points. The data is critical for global and regional water
balance studies. Other beneficiaries of this data include USGS, EPA,
coastal zone studies, and floodplain mapping efforts.

Snow -- Liquid Water Equivalents

This mission was conceived to measure the amount of water stored in the
snowpack at very high spatial resolution (≈ 165 ft (50m)). Also,
snowpack characteristics such as depth, density, wetness, age,
emissivity, albedo, etc will be measured. Measuring the snow
characteristics has significant application for decision makers and is
important for water budget. It would allow for improvements in snow
prediction as well as understanding the climate data record.

Soil Moisture and Freeze/Thaw States

This mission was envisioned for measuring surface soil moisture, deep
soil moisture, and the freeze or thaw state of surface soil in the
presence of vegetation. Benefits include improved water budgets and
better modeling of the carbon cycle.

Cloud Microphysics/Properties

The purpose of this mission is to observe the microphysics and
properties of clouds. Specifically this entails measurements of:

-   Turbulence, vertical velocity

-   Particle size distributions, habit, phases

-   Liquid/ice contents

-   Highly-accurate thermodynamic information

-   Electrical and radiation characteristics

These data would provide better understanding of tropical rainfall and
energy release, rain particle growth, and stratospheric water exchange
enabling the improvement of satellite algorithms.

Focused Observations -- Extreme Weather

The purpose of this mission would be to accomplish process studies
involving severe and hazardous weather events to improve the physics in
mesoscale models (parameterizations). This approach would use high
altitude remote sensing to gather data on precipitation, clouds,
electrical phenomenon, and microphysics. These data would improve models
used to predict winter storm hazards and provide accurate regional
forecasting of rain and snow for economic decisions.

Forecast Initialization

The intent of this mission is to gather data that will improve weather
forecasting and augment data available from satellites. This includes
both a research element such as determining data sensitive regions (e.g.
THORPEX, atmospheric rivers) and an operational element (e.g. NOAA/NCEP
winter storms program). Missions would include observations would be
made for short term (24 hour) initialization where observable events
were already formed, and longer term (3 to 7 days). Additional benefits
would include satellite validation (e.g. GPM and GIFTS) and the improved
use of satellites for forecasting. Missions would be event oriented with
the Eastern Pacific, Northern Atlantic, and Arctic/Antarctic as probable
target areas.

Hurricane Genesis, Evolution, and Landfall

The purpose of this mission would be to accomplish observations of
hurricanes to improve predictions of hurricane paths and landfall. This
approach would use high altitude remote sensing to gather data on
precipitation, clouds, electrical phenomenon, microphysics, and dust.
Daughter ships or drop-sondes would gather data (four-dimensional cubes
of thermodynamic variables and winds) at lower altitudes. Additional
data would be gathered in the boundary layer (sea surface temperature
and surface winds, surface imaging, turbulent fluxes, water surface
state). Measurements of this type would improve hurricane modeling
capability to increase human safety.

Physical Oceanography, Meteorology, and Atmospheric Chemistry

During seasonal storms in the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and the
Southern Ocean small scale but relatively intense exchanges of mass and
energy occur between the ocean surface and the lower atmosphere. This
mission would allow scientists to study these exchanges in turbulent,
high energy density environments in or near storm systems and will help
them understand their broader implications for larger scale phenomena
such as:

-   Understanding break-up or development of the thermocline and surface
    mixed layer during high winds

-   Understanding transition between disorganized and coherent wave
    patterns that transit whole ocean basins

-   Understanding vertical transport of oceanic aerosols to the marine
    boundary layer inversion where they participate in the Earth's
    radiation balance by acting as cloud condensation nuclei

-   Understanding the transport of oceanic gases to the free troposphere
    and stratosphere where they are photo-oxidized and participate in
    gas-particle conversion and atmospheric processes involving
    heterogeneous chemistry

**Tracking Long Distance Transport and Evolution of Pollution**

The purpose of this mission is to observe over long distances, time
periods, and multiple altitudes, the progression and movement of
pollutants, by measuring the composition of the gases and aerosols. Part
of this study is to analyze the impact of pollution on climate and
chemistry. The mission will utilize inert tracers to identify plume
position, reactive tracers to interpret chemical evolution, and other
products to determine ozone formation, oxidizing potential, and aerosol
interaction. With the long duration capability of suborbital platform,
Lagrangian sampling can be achieved.

**Cloud Systems- Clouds/ Aerosol/ Gas/ Radiation Interactions**

This mission will perform in-depth analysis of cloud microphysics,
chemistry and optical properties during formation, evolution,
precipitation and dissipation. Clouds are the chemical processing
factory of the atmosphere, affecting the hydrologic cycle and the
radiative balance of the planet. The results of this project will help
to:

-   establish the link between the clouds, hydrologic cycle, radiative
    balance of the planet, weather, aerosol geochemical cycles, and
    other cycles

-   provide better understanding of natural and anthropogenic
    aerosol/gas constituents upon cloud properties.

**Long Time Scale Vertical Profiling of Atmosphere**

This mission was envisioned for observing and making measurements of
high resolution vertical chemical structure of the atmosphere. Once
these measurements are combined with ground based and satellite
measurements, a map showing the vertical structural composition can be
generated.

**Global 3D Continuous Measurement of Environmentally**

The purpose of this mission is to collect 3D continuous measurements for
environmentally important species for assimilation in global models.
Specifically, this mission would measure:

-   global evolution of atmospheric composition on time scales from
    synoptic to decadal

-   regional emission and continental outflow

-   resolution of fine vertical structures inaccessible from satellite
    observations

With these observations, improved emission estimates, more accurate
global trends, and better model descriptions of processes can be made
and continuous monitoring of plumes is possible. Areas impacted by these
observations consist of numerical weather prediction, carbon cycle
science, and climate variability.

**Transport and Chemical Evolution in the Troposphere**

This suborbital mission would help scientists improve process-based
understanding to guide chemical transport models and knowledge of
global-scale transport. Critical observations will be gathered on
processes of transport and chemical evolution in the troposphere, such
as intercontinental transport of plumes, convective processing, and
lightning effects. Specifically, the mission must provide science data
on chemical evolution and movement in scales ranging from convective to
global. Information will also be collected on ozone, aerosols, and
related species affecting their evolution.

### A2. Homeland Security

The following missions have been documented from the DHS workshop and
personal interview. Inclusion in this report does not imply that this
mission has been funded or otherwise validated by any government agency.

**Marine Interdiction, Monitoring, Detection, Tracking**

The purpose of this mission is to monitor, detect, track, and interdict
targets of interest to the DHS, specifically 'go-fast' vessels used by
drug smugglers.

**Tunnel Detection and Monitoring**

The purpose of this mission is to monitor the areas around the border
for tunnels used for smuggling and unauthorized entry. Currently, if
intelligence indicates there is a tunnel, the military is called.
Investigating the tunnel scares the smugglers away. Utilizing UAVs in
this mission will allow faster response times and a more efficient
investigation and interdiction process.

**Broad Area Surveillance**

The purpose of this mission is to monitor border areas between ports of
entry to detect unauthorized entry by immigration and customs violators.
These areas include both land and maritime/coastal borders and their
associated airspace. Currently, it is not possible to detect, identify,
and track 100% of border crossings. Due to the lack of 24/7 airborne
border coverage, unspecified amounts of weapons, drugs, and unidentified
individuals enter the United States illegally. The use of UAVs will
enable the border patrol to conduct greater covert and overt
surveillance of the border. In addition, they will aid ground agents by
enhancing their situational awareness. Specific examples include
performing vehicle/target identification, identifying friend vs. foe and
high priority targets via facial recognition software, determining
whether individuals are armed, and serving as a communications node.

**BORTAC Situational Awareness**

The purpose of this mission is to enhance situational awareness of
Border Patrol Tactical Team (BORTAC) agents during operations through a
hand launched tactical UAV platform.

Coastal Patrol

This is a U.S. Coast Guard mission. It is a surveillance mission of
maritime traffic off the shores of the USA (east & west coast, Alaska &
Hawaii). Flights would launch and recover from one to three locations
within 100 miles (213 km) of the coast for each of the four regions
listed above. Missions would traverse our coastal waters 50 to 500 miles
(106.5 to 1065 km) off shore.

### A3. Land Management

The following missions have been documented from the Land Management and
Coastal Zone Dynamics Workshop. Inclusion in this report does not imply
that these missions have been funded or otherwise validated by any
government agency.

**Wildlife Management Population Count**

The goal of this mission is to collect data for population counts of
wildlife species to enable effective management of the population of
that species. The species of interest ranges from birds, to herds of
wild horses or burros, to bears, who operate independently.

**Wildlife Management Telemetry Mission**

The goal of this mission is to identify the location of animals with
pre-tagged RF transmitters to enable effective management of species
population.

**Wildlife Habitat Change Mission**

The objective of this mission is to document, with more spatial and
temporal completeness than is currently available, the change in the
habitat environment of various species of animals. This knowledge would
enhance dynamic decision support systems designed to facilitate adaptive
management policies.

**Precision Agriculture**

The goal of this mission is to collect data which enhances crop
productivity and resource efficiency. Observations of crop status,
surface temperature, canopy and soil moisture are critical for this
mission. Weed and pest infiltration monitoring is also desired.

**Water Reservoir Management**

The goal of this mission is to promote sustainable use of water
resources located in regions of inaccessible terrain or which are
prohibited by other means, such as scale. To support the mission,
observations or measurements of the chemical composition (in-situ
sampling), temperature, surface area, and depth of the water resource
are necessary. Time critical measurements of sediment, soil moisture,
and algae content are required. In addition satellite calibration and
validation of snow pack characteristics are also desired.

**Range Management**

The objective of this mission is to assess and improve range land
management. Broad coverage observations of vegetation species and their
condition, biomass, and soil moisture are specific goals for the
mission. Identification of spatial and temporal patterns and gaps are
desired. This data can be used for state and transition, and ecosystem
modeling, and supports land management policy decision making.

**Urban Management**

The goal for this mission is to provide small governments effective
tools for land management. As urban regions expand wild life, range
land, forest, and coastal regions are affected. In addition, storm
run-off can be modified creating localized flooding in certain areas.
Effects of heat islands can also be examined. A UAV provides an
effective tool to help manage these effects by measuring or observing
land usage, pavement quality and coverage, population density, and
changes in topography. This data supports urban hydrology models,
development plans, and traffic monitoring.

**High Resolution Sampling of Coastal Water Quality**

The purpose of this mission is to perform high resolution sampling of
coastal water quality. After a storm occurs, storm water discharge is
often laden with oils and agricultural sediment. Currently, it is not
possible to monitor coastal water qualities on a regular basis due to
cloud cover. Information on plumes, such as their boundaries, shape,
size, direction of propagation, and persistence are highly desired.
Other phenomena of interest include Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB), and
color dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Observations required to support
the mission are sea state reflectance, temperature, sea state roughness,
fluorescence, imagery, and water quality samples.

**Identification and Tracking of Maritime Species**

The purpose of this mission is to locate and track endangered maritime
species. For purposes of discussion, the endangered species will be
tuna, and the setting is the central/northern Atlantic Ocean. The
European species of tuna is currently endangered due to over-fishing.
Several fish in a school are tagged to identify their movement and
position. However, these markers are visible only when the fish are near
the surface of the water. Tuna are visible and relatively stationary
when they are feeding. They feed for a few hours, 2-3 times a day, then
dive into deeper water where they are undetectable. In addition to
population counts and migration tracking, habitat quality is evaluated
in this mission.

**Shallow Water Benthic Ecosystem**

The purpose of this mission is to monitor changes in the shallow water
benthic eco-system. An example mission would take place at Kure Atoll,
in the Northern Pacific Ocean. Kure Atoll is located approximately 2200
km from Hawaii. Observations of reflectance, SST, currents, salinity and
PH of the water, and rugosity are required to support the mission.

**Carbon Dioxide Flux**

The primary purpose of this mission is to correlate atmospheric
turbulence with carbon dioxide flux. Ancillary phenomena of interest
include primary productability (5 m resolution), CDOM (5 m resolution),
sea-state (2 m resolution), and winds.

**Wildfire/Disaster - Predict, Measure, Monitor, and Manage Events**

The wildfire mission shall provide information to the fire fighting
agencies and other emergency responders on how to manage their response
to the emergency. Specifically, the mission shall encompass the
following activities:

-   Locate fire hotspots, determine the active fire front, and identify
    the already burned-out areas.

-   Determine the intensity of the fire and its movement and rate of
    spread shall be measured to help predict the near-term fire
    behavior.

-   Determine local weather and, more specifically, the vertical
    temperature profile over the fire,

-   Measure the fuel moisture levels shall aid in this prediction, and

-   Measure the air quality in the fire plume, including particulate
    levels, to aid in disaster-related evacuation decisions.

**Wildfire/Disaster -- Real-time Communication**

This mission provides a UAV-based voice and RF communications relay
between the field command center and personnel in the field fighting the
fire or dealing with the natural disaster. Standard line-of-sight
communication methods can be rendered inoperative during disaster
events; such is the case with Fire fighting, for example, with typically
takes place in rugged and mountainous terrain. Such a capability will
significantly enhance on-scene command-and-control and could provide
life-saving communication to first responders.

**Wildfire -- Fire Retardant Application**

In recent years the US has seen the advent of Mega-Fires, driven by
gradual increases in consumable fuels and the continued encroachment of
civilization on our wilderness areas. These wildfires and other
fire-related disasters are high-risk events for first responders and the
public. This mission shall employ a specialized low-altitude UAV's, to
replace the role served traditionally by piloted aircraft, for the
airborne application of fire retardant. Additional risk reduction is
provided by removing the pilot out of harm's way in what is a highly
dangerous flight environment.

**Wildfire/Disaster -- Reducing Risk to Responders and the Public**

This mission shall employ a low-altitude UAV's to provide risk reduction
to emergency responders and the general public by performing the
following tasks:

-   Provide information for a rapid, local assessment of a situation by
    an on-scene responder.

-   Provide accurate long-term information regarding the nature,
    location, and extent (and spreading, in the case of a wildfire) of a
    disaster event to aid the deployment of first responders, and to aid
    public safety agencies in their evacuation announcements, as
    necessary, to the general public.

These capabilities will significantly enhance safety and reduce risk by
ensuring that the correct, accurate information -- in some ways not
available in any other fashion -- is available to disaster-event
decision makers.

**Wildfire/Disaster -- Pre-and Post Event Monitoring & Assessment**

This is a data-recording mission that is designed to provide
non-real-time information to researchers for predictive purposes and to
disaster authorities to provide post-event damage assessments. This
mission shall observe, measure, and document such things as:

-   Vegetation condition -- indices, growth, moisture, land cover type.

-   Erosion/streams

-   Invasive and exotics -- presence or absence

-   Fuel loading and biomass -- tons/acres

-   Wild land/urban interface -- ingress/egress

-   Climatology/trends -- weather to supplement Remotely Automated
    Weather System

-   Infrastructure/roads

-   Soil conditions

-   Terrain

Such observations help predict hazards, mitigate high-risk environmental
conditions, help implement post-disaster recovery operations, assist
scientific understanding of post-disaster environmental recovery, and
help plan for mitigation.