MUSAS Publications
Publications using MUSAS platforms (RAAVEN, Pilatus, and related fixed-wing/multirotor sUAS), organized in multiple ways.
RAAVENPilatus Multi-UAS FADS Mobile Mesonet — platform tags
Severe Weather & Convective Storms
MUSAS fixed-wing platforms have collected thermodynamic and wind data in close proximity to tornadic supercells across the U.S. Great Plains, most recently through the NSF-funded TORUS campaign.
TORUS — Targeted Observations using Radar and UAS in Supercells (2019–2022)
Bird, J., E. Frew, and B. Argrow, 2026: Autonomous uncrewed aircraft for mobile operations in severe weather.Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer.
Axon, K. L., A. L. Houston, C. L. Ziegler, C. C. Weiss, E. N. Rasmussen, M. C. Coniglio, B. Argrow, E. Frew, S. Swenson, A. E. Reinhart, and M. Wilson, 2024: The potential roles of preexisting airmass boundaries on a tornadic supercell observed by TORUS on 28 May 2019.Mon. Wea. Rev..
Wilson, M. B., A. L. Houston, C. L. Ziegler, D. M. Stechman, B. Argrow, E. W. Frew, S. Swenson, E. Rasmussen, and M. Coniglio, 2023: Environmental and storm-scale controls on close proximity supercells observed by TORUS on 8 June 2019.Mon. Wea. Rev..
Frew, E. W., B. Argrow, S. Borenstein, S. Swenson, C. Hirst, H. Havenga, and A. Houston, 2020: Field observation of tornadic supercells by multiple autonomous fixed-wing unmanned aircraft.J. Field Robotics.
Atmospheric Boundary Layer Profiling & Lower Atmospheric Dynamics
MUSAS platforms provide high-resolution profiling of thermodynamic variables, three-dimensional winds, turbulence, and energy fluxes within the boundary layer, environments that are difficult to sample with traditional aircraft or radiosondes alone.
LAPSE-RATE — Lower Atmospheric Profiling Studies at Elevation (2018)
de Boer, G., C. Dixon, S. Borenstein, D. A. Lawrence, J. Elston, D. Hesselius, M. Stachura, R. Laurence III, S. Swenson, C. M. Choate, A. Doddi, A. Sesnic, K. Glasheen, Z. Laouar, F. Quinby, E. W. Frew, and B. M. Argrow, 2021: University of Colorado and Black Swift Technologies RPAS-based measurements of the lower atmosphere during LAPSE-RATE.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2515–2532.
de Boer, G., S. Waugh, A. Erwin, S. Borenstein, C. Dixon, W. Shanti, A. Houston, and B. M. Argrow, 2021: Measurements from mobile surface vehicles during LAPSE-RATE.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 155–174.
de Boer, G., C. Diehl, J. Jacob, A. Houston, S. W. Smith, P. B. Chilson, and 30 co-authors, 2019: Unmanned aircraft get together: The LAPSE-RATE campaign.Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc..
de Boer, G., A. Houston, J. Jacob, P. B. Chilson, S. W. Smith, B. M. Argrow, and 21 co-authors, 2020: Data generated during the 2018 LAPSE-RATE campaign: An introduction and overview.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3357–3375.
Boundary Layer & Pre-Convective Environment Sampling
Koch, S. E., M. Fengler, P. B. Chilson, K. L. Elmore, B. M. Argrow, D. L. Andra, and T. Lindley, 2018: On the use of unmanned aircraft for sampling mesoscale phenomena in the preconvective boundary layer.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
Platform & Methodology Overviews
de Boer, G., B. J. Butterworth, J. S. Elston, A. Houston, E. Pillar-Little, B. Argrow, and 13 co-authors, 2024: Evaluation and intercomparison of small uncrewed aircraft systems used for atmospheric research.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
Elston, J., B. Argrow, M. Stachura, D. Weibel, D. Lawrence, and D. Pope, 2015: Overview of small fixed-wing unmanned aircraft for meteorological sampling.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 32, 97–115.
de Boer, G., B. Argrow, J. Cassano, J. Cione, E. Frew, D. Lawrence, G. Wick, and C. Wolff, 2019: Advancing unmanned aerial capabilities for atmospheric research.Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc..
de Boer, G., S. Palo, B. Argrow, G. LoDolce, J. Mack, R.-S. Gao, and 10 co-authors, 2016: The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research.Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1845–1857.
Swenson, S., B. M. Argrow, E. W. Frew, S. Borenstein, and J. Keeler, 2019: Development and deployment of air-launched drifters from small UAS.Sensors.
High-Latitude & Arctic Environments
MUSAS platforms have been deployed repeatedly to the Arctic and sub-Arctic, capturing observations of the boundary layer, sea ice-atmosphere interactions, and cloud properties. Deployments span the MOSAiC expedition, ARM programs, and collaborations with NOAA and international partners.
de Boer, G., R. Calmer, G. Jozef, J. J. Cassano, J. Hamilton, D. Lawrence, S. Borenstein, A. Doddi, C. Cox, J. Schmale, A. Preüßer, and B. Argrow, 2024: Observing the central Arctic atmosphere and surface with University of Colorado uncrewed aircraft systems.Scientific Data.
de Boer, G., R. Calmer, G. Jozef, J. J. Cassano, J. Hamilton, D. Lawrence, S. Borenstein, A. Doddi, C. Cox, J. Schmale, A. Preüßer, and B. M. Argrow, 2022: Observing the central Arctic atmosphere and surface with University of Colorado uncrewed aircraft systems.Sci. Data.
de Boer, G., M. Ivey, B. Schmid, D. Lawrence, D. Dexheimer, F. Mei, J. Hubbe, and 20 co-authors, 2018: A bird's-eye view: Development of an operational ARM unmanned aerial capability for atmospheric research in Arctic Alaska.Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc..
Aerosol Processes, Air Quality & Cloud-Convection Interactions
MUSAS platforms have investigated aerosol loading, traffic-related pollution, and the role of aerosols in convective cloud development, across urban, coastal, and open-ocean environments.
TRACER — Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions ExpeRiment (2022)
Lappin, F., G. de Boer, P. Klein, J. Hamilton, M. Spencer, R. Calmer, and 20 co-authors, 2024: Data collected using small uncrewed aircraft systems during the TRACER experiment.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2525–2541.
Urban Air Quality
Silberstein, J., R. Sasse, M. Harjamaki, M. Rhodes, J. Cooper, R. Downey, M. Ritsch, M. Hannigan, and B. Argrow, 2025: Deployment of a fixed-wing small uncrewed aircraft system for urban traffic-related air pollution assessment.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction & Trade-Wind Environment
Fixed-wing sUAS are well suited to sustained low-altitude sampling over open water. ATOMIC demonstrated the RAAVEN's capability for over 80 flight hours in the tropical marine boundary layer.
ATOMIC — Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (2020)
de Boer, G., S. Borenstein, R. Calmer, C. Cox, M. Rhodes, C. Choate, J. Hamilton, J. Osborn, D. Lawrence, B. M. Argrow, and J. Intrieri, 2022: Measurements from the University of Colorado RAAVEN uncrewed aircraft system during ATOMIC.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 19–38.
Autonomous Systems, Swarms & Mission Planning
The ability to coordinate multiple autonomous platforms simultaneously in dynamic environments underpins safe, effective deployment of MUSAS assets in rapidly evolving weather scenarios.
Bird, J., E. Frew, and B. Argrow, 2026: Autonomous uncrewed aircraft for mobile operations in severe weather.Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer.
Frew, E. W., K. Glasheen, C. A. Hirst, J. Bird, and B. M. Argrow, 2020: A dispersed autonomy architecture for information-gathering drone swarms.IEEE Aerospace Conference.
This section gathers publications that directly address measurement quality, platform intercomparisons, and instrument calibration — the evidence base for trusting MUSAS data. RAAVEN observations have been validated against radiosondes, instrumented towers, mobile mesonets, and other UAS platforms across multiple campaigns and environments.
Multi-Platform Intercomparison Studies
de Boer, G., B. J. Butterworth, J. S. Elston, A. Houston, E. Pillar-Little, B. Argrow, and 13 co-authors, 2024: Evaluation and intercomparison of small uncrewed aircraft systems used for atmospheric research.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
Houston, A. L., R. J. Laurence III, T. W. Nichols, S. Waugh, B. Argrow, and C. L. Ziegler, 2016: Intercomparison of unmanned aircraft-borne and mobile mesonet atmospheric sensors.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 33, 1569–1582.
Wind & Airspeed Measurement Systems (FADS)
The Flush Air Data System (FADS) is a custom-developed distributed sensor array for deriving 3D winds and airspeed on small UAS. The following document its development from wind tunnel testing through numerical validation and operational flight use.
Laurence, R. J. III, B. M. Argrow, and E. W. Frew, 2017: Wind tunnel results for a distributed flush airdata system.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 34, 1519–1528.
Laurence, R. J. III, and B. M. Argrow, 2018: Development and flight test results of a small UAS distributed flush airdata system.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 35, 1127–1140.
Laurence, R. J. III, and B. M. Argrow, 2019: Numerical calibration of a low-speed sUAS flush air data system.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
Sasse, R., S. Borenstein, R. Calmer, M. Rhodes, J. Farnsworth, G. de Boer, B. M. Argrow, and J. J. Bird, 2022: CFD-assisted calibration of a multi-hole probe for a small UAS.AIAA SciTech Forum.
Ranquist, E., S. Humbert, and B. M. Argrow, 2019: Distributed acceleration sensing for small UAS wind gust estimation.Proc., 99th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, Phoenix, AZ.
The following publications describe openly archived datasets available to the research community. Scientists can access MUSAS-collected data for model validation, algorithm development, or complementary analysis without requiring a new deployment.
Data access: Datasets are archived in publicly accessible repositories including the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, DOE ARM Data Center, and the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Contact the MUSAS team for access guidance.
Arctic & High-Latitude Datasets
de Boer, G., R. Calmer, G. Jozef, J. J. Cassano, J. Hamilton, D. Lawrence, S. Borenstein, A. Doddi, C. Cox, J. Schmale, A. Preüßer, and B. Argrow, 2024: Observing the central Arctic atmosphere and surface with University of Colorado uncrewed aircraft systems.Scientific Data.
de Boer, G., R. Calmer, G. Jozef, J. J. Cassano, J. Hamilton, D. Lawrence, S. Borenstein, A. Doddi, C. Cox, J. Schmale, A. Preüßer, and B. M. Argrow, 2022: Observing the central Arctic atmosphere and surface with University of Colorado uncrewed aircraft systems.Sci. Data.
Tropical & Marine Boundary Layer Datasets
de Boer, G., S. Borenstein, R. Calmer, C. Cox, M. Rhodes, C. Choate, J. Hamilton, J. Osborn, D. Lawrence, B. M. Argrow, and J. Intrieri, 2022: Measurements from the University of Colorado RAAVEN uncrewed aircraft system during ATOMIC.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 19–38.
Aerosol & Convection Datasets
Lappin, F., G. de Boer, P. Klein, J. Hamilton, M. Spencer, R. Calmer, and 20 co-authors, 2024: Data collected using small uncrewed aircraft systems during the TRACER experiment.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2525–2541.
Boundary Layer & Multi-UAS Campaign Datasets
de Boer, G., C. Dixon, S. Borenstein, D. A. Lawrence, J. Elston, D. Hesselius, M. Stachura, R. Laurence III, S. Swenson, C. M. Choate, A. Doddi, A. Sesnic, K. Glasheen, Z. Laouar, F. Quinby, E. W. Frew, and B. M. Argrow, 2021: University of Colorado and Black Swift Technologies RPAS-based measurements of the lower atmosphere during LAPSE-RATE.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2515–2532.
de Boer, G., S. Waugh, A. Erwin, S. Borenstein, C. Dixon, W. Shanti, A. Houston, and B. M. Argrow, 2021: Measurements from mobile surface vehicles during LAPSE-RATE.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 155–174.
de Boer, G., A. Houston, J. Jacob, P. B. Chilson, S. W. Smith, B. M. Argrow, and 21 co-authors, 2020: Data generated during the 2018 LAPSE-RATE campaign: An introduction and overview.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3357–3375.
All MUSAS publications in a single reverse-chronological list. Early Tempest-platform and VORTEX2-era (2010–2012) publications are not included.
2026
Bird, J., E. Frew, and B. Argrow, 2026: Autonomous uncrewed aircraft for mobile operations in severe weather.Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer.
Sasse, R., S. Borenstein, M. Rhodes, B. Argrow, G. de Boer, J. Farnsworth, J. J. Bird, and R. Calmer, 2026: CFD-Enhanced Calibration of a Multihole Probe for Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 43, 169–184,
2025
Silberstein, J., R. Sasse, M. Harjamaki, M. Rhodes, J. Cooper, R. Downey, M. Ritsch, M. Hannigan, and B. Argrow, 2025: Deployment of a fixed-wing small uncrewed aircraft system for urban traffic-related air pollution assessment.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
2024
de Boer, G., R. Calmer, G. Jozef, J. J. Cassano, J. Hamilton, D. Lawrence, S. Borenstein, A. Doddi, C. Cox, J. Schmale, A. Preüßer, and B. Argrow, 2024: Observing the central Arctic atmosphere and surface with University of Colorado uncrewed aircraft systems.Scientific Data.
Lappin, F., G. de Boer, P. Klein, J. Hamilton, M. Spencer, R. Calmer, and 20 co-authors, 2024: Data collected using small uncrewed aircraft systems during the TRACER experiment.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2525–2541.
de Boer, G., B. J. Butterworth, J. S. Elston, A. Houston, E. Pillar-Little, B. Argrow, and 13 co-authors, 2024: Evaluation and intercomparison of small uncrewed aircraft systems used for atmospheric research.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
Axon, K. L., A. L. Houston, C. L. Ziegler, C. C. Weiss, E. N. Rasmussen, M. C. Coniglio, B. Argrow, E. Frew, S. Swenson, A. E. Reinhart, and M. Wilson, 2024: The potential roles of preexisting airmass boundaries on a tornadic supercell observed by TORUS on 28 May 2019.Mon. Wea. Rev..
2023
Wilson, M. B., A. L. Houston, C. L. Ziegler, D. M. Stechman, B. Argrow, E. W. Frew, S. Swenson, E. Rasmussen, and M. Coniglio, 2023: Environmental and storm-scale controls on close proximity supercells observed by TORUS on 8 June 2019.Mon. Wea. Rev..
2022
de Boer, G., R. Calmer, G. Jozef, J. J. Cassano, J. Hamilton, D. Lawrence, S. Borenstein, A. Doddi, C. Cox, J. Schmale, A. Preüßer, and B. M. Argrow, 2022: Observing the central Arctic atmosphere and surface with University of Colorado uncrewed aircraft systems.Sci. Data.
de Boer, G., S. Borenstein, R. Calmer, C. Cox, M. Rhodes, C. Choate, J. Hamilton, J. Osborn, D. Lawrence, B. M. Argrow, and J. Intrieri, 2022: Measurements from the University of Colorado RAAVEN uncrewed aircraft system during ATOMIC.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 19–38.
Sasse, R., S. Borenstein, R. Calmer, M. Rhodes, J. Farnsworth, G. de Boer, B. M. Argrow, and J. J. Bird, 2022: CFD-assisted calibration of a multi-hole probe for a small UAS.AIAA SciTech Forum.
2021
de Boer, G., C. Dixon, S. Borenstein, D. A. Lawrence, J. Elston, D. Hesselius, M. Stachura, R. Laurence III, S. Swenson, C. M. Choate, A. Doddi, A. Sesnic, K. Glasheen, Z. Laouar, F. Quinby, E. W. Frew, and B. M. Argrow, 2021: University of Colorado and Black Swift Technologies RPAS-based measurements of the lower atmosphere during LAPSE-RATE.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2515–2532.
de Boer, G., S. Waugh, A. Erwin, S. Borenstein, C. Dixon, W. Shanti, A. Houston, and B. M. Argrow, 2021: Measurements from mobile surface vehicles during LAPSE-RATE.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 155–174.
2020
Frew, E. W., B. Argrow, S. Borenstein, S. Swenson, C. Hirst, H. Havenga, and A. Houston, 2020: Field observation of tornadic supercells by multiple autonomous fixed-wing unmanned aircraft.J. Field Robotics.
de Boer, G., A. Houston, J. Jacob, P. B. Chilson, S. W. Smith, B. M. Argrow, and 21 co-authors, 2020: Data generated during the 2018 LAPSE-RATE campaign: An introduction and overview.Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3357–3375.
Frew, E. W., K. Glasheen, C. A. Hirst, J. Bird, and B. M. Argrow, 2020: A dispersed autonomy architecture for information-gathering drone swarms.IEEE Aerospace Conference.
2019
de Boer, G., C. Diehl, J. Jacob, A. Houston, S. W. Smith, P. B. Chilson, and 30 co-authors, 2019: Unmanned aircraft get together: The LAPSE-RATE campaign.Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc..
Swenson, S., B. M. Argrow, E. W. Frew, S. Borenstein, and J. Keeler, 2019: Development and deployment of air-launched drifters from small UAS.Sensors.
de Boer, G., B. Argrow, J. Cassano, J. Cione, E. Frew, D. Lawrence, G. Wick, and C. Wolff, 2019: Advancing unmanned aerial capabilities for atmospheric research.Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc..
Laurence, R. J. III, and B. M. Argrow, 2019: Numerical calibration of a low-speed sUAS flush air data system.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
Ranquist, E., S. Humbert, and B. M. Argrow, 2019: Distributed acceleration sensing for small UAS wind gust estimation.Proc., 99th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, Phoenix, AZ.
2018
Koch, S. E., M. Fengler, P. B. Chilson, K. L. Elmore, B. M. Argrow, D. L. Andra, and T. Lindley, 2018: On the use of unmanned aircraft for sampling mesoscale phenomena in the preconvective boundary layer.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol..
de Boer, G., M. Ivey, B. Schmid, D. Lawrence, D. Dexheimer, F. Mei, J. Hubbe, and 20 co-authors, 2018: A bird's-eye view: Development of an operational ARM unmanned aerial capability for atmospheric research in Arctic Alaska.Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc..
Laurence, R. J. III, and B. M. Argrow, 2018: Development and flight test results of a small UAS distributed flush airdata system.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 35, 1127–1140.
2017
Laurence, R. J. III, B. M. Argrow, and E. W. Frew, 2017: Wind tunnel results for a distributed flush airdata system.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 34, 1519–1528.
2016
Houston, A. L., R. J. Laurence III, T. W. Nichols, S. Waugh, B. Argrow, and C. L. Ziegler, 2016: Intercomparison of unmanned aircraft-borne and mobile mesonet atmospheric sensors.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 33, 1569–1582.
de Boer, G., S. Palo, B. Argrow, G. LoDolce, J. Mack, R.-S. Gao, and 10 co-authors, 2016: The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research.Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1845–1857.
2015
Elston, J., B. Argrow, M. Stachura, D. Weibel, D. Lawrence, and D. Pope, 2015: Overview of small fixed-wing unmanned aircraft for meteorological sampling.J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 32, 97–115.