MRI-R2: Development of an Ice Imaging System for Monitoring Changing Ice Sheets Mounted on the NYANG LC-130

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。冰舱系统将由一套安装在外部吊舱中的成像传感器组成，安装在纽约空军国民警卫队LC-130飞机上，在南极洲和格陵兰岛执行例行和有针对性的任务时操作。该系统将作为一个共享的社区研究设施运行，为科学家和教育工作者提供数据。仪器将包括用于精确测量冰面的扫描激光，用于记录冰面结构和温度的可见光和红外成像相机，以及用于恢复冰层厚度和限制冰盖床水分布的冰穿透雷达。测量的地理参考将由与惯性技术相结合的精密GPS卫星数据提供。使用IcePod系统，东南极剩余的大部分未开发区域将开放进行研究，包括南极洲的几个关键区域。综合冰舱传感器系统的数据将使人们能够对出口冰川的动态、西南极冰盖接地线的稳定性、冰下湖泊之间的水运动的性质以及表面融化水在格陵兰冰盖季节性加速中所起的作用进行新的研究。该项目可以提供能够详细测量冰面和冰床的集成冰成像系统。冰舱成像系统将利用新推出的仪表式门插头，为国防部特种部队应用开发，可以安装在任何LC-130后方部队门上。这项提案将在五年内设计、制造、校准、测试和启用该仪器。一个科学顾问委员会将为冰舱团队提供意见，以确保该系统满足科学界的需求--S，一个操作顾问小组将提供关于飞机操作、后勤、测试和认证的意见。冰舱项目的目标是，传感器系统将成为科学界运营的设施，数据将通过美国国家科学基金会支持的极地数据中心提供给科学界。学生将通过设计、建造和演示样品测量系统来参与冰舱的开发。研究人员还将建立一个教育工作者网络，他们可以访问、理解和使用从冰舱收集的数据，从而使学生参与环境变化和仪器开发的科学。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The icePod system will consist of a suite of imaging sensors mounted in an external pod installed and operated on New York Air National Guard LC-130 aircraft during routine and targeted missions across Antarctica and Greenland. This system will be operated as a shared community research facility providing data to scientists and educators. Instrumentation will include a scanning laser for precise measurements of the ice surface, visible and infrared imaging cameras to document the ice surface structure and temperature, and ice-penetrating radar to recover ice thickness and constrain the distribution of water at the ice sheet bed. Geo-referencing of the measurements will be provided by precision GPS satellite data integrated with inertial technology. Using the icePod system, a majority of the remaining unexplored regions of East Antarctica will become open for study including several key regions in Antarctica. Data from the integrated icePod sensor system will enable novel studies of the dynamics of outlet glaciers, the stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet grounding lines, the nature of the water movement between subglacial lakes and on the role surface melt water plays in the seasonal acceleration of the Greenland ice sheet. This project could provide the integrated ice imaging system capable of measuring in detail both the ice surface and the ice bed. The icePod imaging system will leverage a newly available instrumented door plug developed for Department of Defense Special Forces applications that can be installed in any LC-130 rear troop door. This proposal will design, build, calibrate, test and commission the instrument over a five-year period. A scientific advisory committee will provide input to the icePod team to ensure the system meets the science community?s needs and an operations advisory group will provide input on aircraft operations, logistics, testing and certification. The goal of the icePod project is that the sensor system will become a facility operated for the science community and the data will be served to the science community through a NSF- supported polar data center. Students will be engaged in the development of icePod through design, construction and demonstration of sample measurement systems. The investigators will also build a network of educators who can access, understand and employ the data collected from the icePod, thereby engaging students with the science of environmental change and instrumentation development.