Development of a Wireless Sensor for Measuring Water Storage in Glaciers

开发用于测量冰川储水量的无线传感器

• 批准号: 2743741
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2743741
• 关键词: Development; Wireless; Sensor; Measuring; Water

Measuring the transit of meltwater through glaciers is critical for predicting their future behaviour as the climate warms. Increased surface melt has the potential to increase ice flow and hence glacier wasting. However, the passage of water from surface to the subsurface is complex and hence the capacity of the drainage system to store water is not well known. This project will develop a sensor for entering the glacier drainage system to measure how much water is stored in 'moulins'. Moulins are conduits that transport surface meltwater to the glacier bed, from where it flows through a subglacial drainage network and on out to sea. It was assumed that moulins essentially functioned as a direct pipe, moving water rapidly from one area to another. Recent research, including in person exploration, has demonstrated that moulins are complex flow pathways which can store significant quantities of water. This has important implications for understanding how glaciers will respond to climate warming. We need to know how much water is stored in moulins, how long it has been resident, and how connected it is to the subglacial environment throughout the melt season. Moulins are, however, extremely challenging to explore: filled with turbulent, fast-flowing water that fluctuates hourly and frequently freezes, the technological demands of collecting the required data are extreme. Sensors must enter the moulin, survive turbulent meltwater and return data to the surface at high temporal frequency without requiring a cabled connection.

测量融化水通过冰川的过程，对于预测它们未来在气候变暖时的行为至关重要。地表融化的增加有可能增加冰川的流动，从而导致冰川消融。然而，水从地表到地下的通道是复杂的，因此排水系统的储水能力并不是很清楚。该项目将开发一种用于进入冰川排水系统的传感器，以测量“山丘”中储存了多少水。Moulins是将表面融化的水输送到冰川床的管道，从那里流经冰川下的排水网络，然后流入大海。人们认为，冰山基本上起到了直接管道的作用，将水从一个地区迅速输送到另一个地区。最近的研究，包括亲自探索，已经证明冰山是一种复杂的流动路径，可以储存大量的水。这对于理解冰川将如何应对气候变暖具有重要意义。我们需要知道山丘中储存了多少水，它存在了多长时间，以及在整个融化季节它与冰下环境的联系有多大。然而，探索穆林火山极具挑战性：充满了每小时波动并频繁结冰的湍急水流，收集所需数据的技术要求是极端的。传感器必须进入磨坊，在湍急的融水中幸存下来，并在不需要电缆连接的情况下，以高时间频率将数据返回表面。