DRAGONFLY: a UAV Rapidly Deployed Micro-Profiler Array for Underwater Thermocline Observation

Underwater thermocline, common in the lakes and ocean, plays a vital role in meteorological forecasting in the ocean and lakes dynamics research. This letter proposes a method for rapid and multipoint observation of thermocline variations with time and space using an airdropped micro-profiler array, named the DRAGONFLY system. It comprises specially designed disposable low-cost micro-profilers, a general unmanned aerial carrier platform, and a ground control system. This system can conduct periodic profile observations at a single point or quickly survey a large area. A series of experiments to characterize the micro-profiler and the DRAGONFLY system were conducted in Qiandao Lake, China. We demonstrate the developed system with data from field experiments, which show very high flexibility, and feasibility to observe the lake thermocline, implying potential applications in ocean transient phenomena observation.