Aerial Drones Used To Sample Pit Water Reduce Monitoring Costs And Improve Safety
Castendyk, Devin 1 ; Straight, Brian 2 ; Filiatreault, Pierre 3 ; Thibeault, Stephanie 4 ; Cameron, Londie 5
2 Presenting Author
1 Hatch Associates Consultants
2 University of Colorado Boulder
3 Hatch Associates Consultants
4 Goldcorp Canada Ltd.
5 Goldcorp Canada Ltd.
Aerial drones that collect and retrieve water samples from depth in ocean, estuary, and lake settings have the potential to revolutionize how oceanographers and limnologists explore the water column. Unmanned aerial water sampling systems (UAWSS), or drone sampling, is less expensive than traditional boat-based programs, reduces equipment mobilization and sampling times, and eliminates safety risks associated with sampling. This last point is particularly important for the routine environmental monitoring of mine pit lakes which are difficult to access due to steep, unstable pit walls. Previous UAWSS's have only collected small volume (~30 mL) samples from the water surface. The Hatch UAWSS will be introduced which is capable of profiling a 100-m-deep water column with a CTD and collecting 1.2 L water samples from any depth. This system suspends a CTD or Niskin bottle from a high-lift-capacity drone and remotely deploys a messenger once the Niskin bottle has been lowered to the desired depth. In October 2016, the Hatch UAWSS successfully collected a sample from 100 m in the flooded Pamour Pit at the Porcupine Gold Mine outside Timmins, Ontario. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time an aerial drone has collected a water sample from this depth. We compare the traditional methods of sampling and the UAWSS method as well as costs and risks associated with both approaches. This system only requires a pilot, a sample technician, and a safe operations individual overlooking the water body. The advantages and challenges of drone sampling will be discussed along with the potential of this emerging technology.
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