Using Drones to Monitor River Water Temperature
As thermal imaging technology improves, there has been increasing interest in using drones to collect spatially extensive thermal data from rivers. Thermal drones make extensive surveys of river sections and the production of continuous ‘thermal maps’ feasible goals. Nevertheless, tests of data quality are still needed before widespread application of these sensors in hydro ecological studies. This project is using a combination of controlled laboratory studies and field tests to assess the accuracy and stability of temperature data collected from sensors attached to inexpensive drones. Particular points of interest are temporal drift in the temperature data obtained from drone-mounted sensors and their ability to detect spatial variation in water temperature at scales that are ecologically relevant.