Current Status of the Use of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems for Environmental Monitoring

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS [aka drones]) are becoming an effective method for both environmental assessment and monitoring. Newly enacted rules by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), recognize and promote the role of commercial UAS use and provide guidance on issues related to privacy concerns. Currently, the most common use of UAS is for aerial photography or video imagery. UAS craft can carry new lightweight sensors specific to environmental monitoring. Regulatory agencies are currently varied in their acceptance of the use of UAS in environmental assessment. Routine UAS will become more common by environmental professionals as UAS-specific workflows are developed and verified.