Exploring Snow, Sea Ice, and Distant Schooling with UAV Know-how
Scientists from the College of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Geophysical Institute are leveraging drone expertise to push the boundaries of analysis in difficult environments. On the 2024 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Assembly, UAF researchers will current progressive initiatives showcasing drones’ capabilities in measuring snow and sea ice, surveying the ocean ground, and educating distant communities in Alaska.
Measuring Snow and Sea Ice Depth by UAV
The Lengthy-range Airborne Snow and Sea Ice Thickness Observing System (LASSITOS) is tackling the challenges of polar analysis. Led by postdoctoral fellow Achille Capelli, the mission goals to enhance measurements of snow cowl and sea ice thickness, essential for understanding polar adjustments and supporting actions like marine navigation and ice street transportation.
“Unmanned aerial autos can fly over ice inaccessible to floor journey, enable versatile deployment from land and marine platforms, and trigger much less disturbance than manned aircrafts,” Capelli explains. This progressive sensor system is about to offer correct knowledge whereas addressing the complexities of working in distant polar areas.
Capelli will current the LASSITOS mission throughout the AGU assembly’s poster session on Monday, Dec. 9, from 1:40 to five:30 p.m.
For extra details about UAF’s polar analysis, go to the Geophysical Institute’s web site.
Drone’s Eye View of the Sea Flooring
Assistant professor Michael Roddewig is revolutionizing coastal mapping with a drone-borne maritime lidar system. Not like conventional maritime lidars, which require pricey and manned plane, this new expertise operates on a fixed-wing unmanned aerial automobile managed by UAF’s Alaska Heart for Unmanned Aerial System Integration.
“Alaska’s remoteness, inclement climate, and restricted personnel capability present distinctive challenges to knowledge gathering with conventional maritime lidar,” Roddewig notes. The UAV-based lidar presents an economical and adaptable resolution for mapping coastal bathymetry, surveying fish populations, and learning plankton.
Roddewig will share insights on this mission throughout the AGU assembly on Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 1:40 to five:30 p.m.
Study extra about UAF’s advances in lidar expertise within the summary, right here.
Inspiring Distant Alaska College students with Drone Know-how
Helena Buurman of the Alaska Satellite tv for pc Facility will current the “Drones on Ice!” program, which introduces Ok-12 college students in distant Alaska communities to drone expertise. Funded by NASA, this program combines educational ideas with conventional and Indigenous data, providing college students hands-on studying and alternatives to deal with native challenges like figuring out open water on frozen rivers.
“Taught as a three-day workshop in Alaska’s distant villages, this system actions tie educational ideas into conventional and Indigenous data and schooling techniques to create a related and impactful studying expertise for college students,” Buurman explains.
Communities equivalent to Venetie, Shageluk, and Utqiaġvik have welcomed this system, which plans to broaden into geospatial applied sciences. Buurman will share particulars throughout the AGU assembly on Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 1:40 to five:30 p.m.
For extra particulars on this system, see the summary right here.
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