MRI: Development of a Wirelessly-Connected Network of Seismometers and GPS Instruments for Polar and Geophysical Research

知识价值：有关冰川和冰下条件的知识对于冰盖模型和海平面变化预测至关重要。一些鲜为人知但对改进水流模型和海平面变化预测至关重要的关键变量是：基面粗糙度、冰下沉积和水文条件，以及冰盖流场的时间和空间变异性。地震反射和折射成像以及密集的连续运行的GPS接收器阵列可以确定这些参数。PI建议开发一个无线互联的地球物理传感器(GeoPebble)网络，使冰川学家能够同时进行这些实验。这种传感器网将提供一种新的方法来成像冰盖，这是目前的仪器无法实现的。有了这个传感器网，PI将把现有仪器的范围从2D扩展到3D，从低分辨率扩展到高分辨率，但更重要的是，所有地球物理测量将同步进行。到建议期结束时，PIS将生产一个由150-200块地卵石组成的网络，可用于美国国家科学基金会赞助的冰川学研究项目。更广泛的影响：增进对冰的流动规律、冰川和冰流的滑动以及古气候历史的了解，将有助于评估冰盖突然大规模变化的可能性，以及由此产生的海平面效应和重大的社会影响。这一改进的建模能力将是更好地了解冰盖的物理属性的直接结果，这将为本项目提供便利。开发工作将通过EE的顶石设计课程和地球科学的高级论文要求与本科教育计划相结合。PI还将组成一批一年级和二年级的学生，他们将从项目开始就在他们的实验室工作，通过网络的调试来制定规范。

Intellectual Merit: Knowledge of englacial and subglacial conditions are critical for ice sheet models and predictions of sea-level change. Some of the critical variables that are poorly known but essential for improving flow models and predictions of sea-level change are: basal roughness, subglacial sedimentary and hydrologic conditions, and the temporal and spatial variability of the ice sheet flow field. Seismic reflection and refraction imaging and dense arrays of continuously operating GPS receivers can determine these parameters. The PIs propose to develop a network of wirelessly interconnected geophysical sensors (geoPebble) that will allow glaciologists to carry out these experiments simultaneously. This sensor web will provide a new way of imaging the ice sheet that is not possible with current instruments. With this sensor web, the PIs will extend the range of existing instruments from 2D to 3D, from low resolution to high resolution, but more importantly, all the geophysical measurements will be conducted synchronously. By the end of the proposal period the PIs will produce a network of 150-200 geoPebbles that will be available for NSF-sponsored glaciology research projects. Broader impacts: Improved knowledge of the flow law of ice, the sliding of glaciers and ice streams, and paleoclimate history will contribute to assessments of the potential for abrupt ice-sheet mass change, with consequent sea-level effects and significant societal impacts. This improved modeling ability will be a direct consequence of better knowledge of the physical properties of ice sheets, which this project will facilitate. The development effort will be integrated with the undergraduate education program via the capstone design classes in EE and the senior thesis requirement in Geoscience. The PIs will also form a cohort of first-year and sophomore students who will work in their labs from the beginning of the project to develop specifications through the commissioning of the network.