RPA flight log data for 141 flights undertaken during the RV Investigator ENRICH voyage IN2019_V01

Full description

Between January and March 2019, a multi-disciplinary marine science voyage (the ENRICH Voyage - Euphausiids and Nutrient Recycling In Cetacean Hotspots) was conducted off East Antarctica, from 64°S to 67°S and between 138°E and 154°W. During the voyage, multirotor RPA flights were conducted for cetacean photogrammetry, photo-identification and blow sampling in order to contribute to the overarching aim of the voyage - to describe the characteristics of Antarctic krill swarms and determine whether these characteristics predict the distribution and behaviour of Antarctic predators, particularly Antarctic blue whales, and how these predators interact with krill in time and space. This data set was used to describe the multirotor RPA activities during the ENRICH voyage, characterising the operating envelope of successful multirotor RPA use in maritime East Antarctica.

RPAs were hand launched from deck 2 (approximately 12 m above the water line) of the RV Investigator on days where whales were sighted within a suitable distance (~less than 1500m) of the vessel, mean wind speeds were less than 15 knots and with permission from the Bridge Officer and the Chief Scientist. 139 multirotor RPA flights were undertaken between the 25th January 2019 and the 25th February 2019 on a DJI Inspire 2 (n=119), DJI Phantom 4 (n=15) and DJI Phantom 4 Pro (n= 5) for the purposes of whale photogrammetry, whale blow sampling, whale photo identification, surface water sampling for trace metal analysis, visual survey of whale behaviour and scenic imagery collection. To characterise the operating envelope of successful RPA use in maritime East Antarctica, we compared RPA flight metrics (duration, height, length, speed, distance from ship, battery drainage, satellites acquired) to the underway environmental sampling data collected concurrently from the RV Investigator.

This csv contains the data decoded from DJI RPA flight logs for three different RPAs employed for scenic and scientific flights during the ENRICH voyage on the RV Investigator (MNF) in 2019. It identifies the RPA type, the unique flight identification, date and time (UTC), latitude, longitude, flying time (seconds), distance from home/pilot (m), flight distance (m) and flight height (m). Flights were undertaken from deck 2 which was approximately 12m above sea level. The RPA considers this height to be 0m therefore flight heights values go below 0m.

Lineage

Progress Code: completed

Statement: An update to the dataset was made on 2024-07-26 to correct some date inconsistencies in the original file.

Notes

Purpose
This data set was used to discuss and characterise the operating envelope of successful multirotor RPA use in maritime East Antarctica, highlighting the limitations, challenges and opportunities that RPA technology presents for future cetacean research.