The study investigates how low-cost technology can be applied in data-scarce catchments to improve water resource management. More specifically, we investigate how drone technology can be combined with low-cost real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) equipment and subsequently applied to a 3D hydraulic model so as to generate more physically based rating curves.

Weather balloons are released every day around the world to obtain the latest atmospheric data for weather forecasting. Expanding the range of sensors they carry can make additional quantities available, such as for atmospheric turbulence, cloud electricity, energetic particles from space and, in emergency situations, volcanic ash or radioactivity. An adaptable system has been developed to provide these and other measurements, without interfering with the core weather data.

The study was conducted along the Luangwa River in Zambia. It combines low-cost instruments such as UAVs and GPS kits to collect data for the purposes of water management. A novel technique which seamlessly merges the dry and wet bathymetry before application in a hydraulic model was applied. Successful implementation resulted in water authorities with small budgets being able to monitor flows safely and efficiently without significant compromise on accuracy.

UAV-borne magnetometry has gradually become an important tool for geophysical studies. However, developing such a UAV-borne aeromagnetometry system is challenging owing to strong magnetic interference introduced by onboard electric and electronic components. One static and two dynamic experiments were conducted to understand the platform's magnetic interference. The results reveal that the strongest magnetic interference is from some current-carrying cables.

A novel airborne sensing platform is developed for meteorological measurements including variables such as components of wind velocity vector, temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. The system is called the Tethered Air Blimp (TAB). This system is deployed at a complex mining facility in northern Canada to measure dynamics of the atmosphere in various diurnal times, latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes. It measures convective, neutral, and stable boundary layers up to 150 m.