CAREER: UAS-Based Radar Suite for Sounding and Mapping Glaciers

格陵兰岛和南极洲观测到的冰盖质量损失直接导致了全球海平面上升。科学家们预测，到本世纪末，极地冰盖的变化可能会对单反造成数十厘米到近两米的影响。未来SLR预测的巨大不确定性部分是由于对冰盖最关键区域的基岩地形和表面裂缝的测量不足。科学家在冰盖模型中使用这些测量来预测对SLR的贡献。基岩地形和地表裂缝的观测差距限制了科学家？能够准确模拟动态冰盖的变化。该项目通过为一架小型无人机直升机配备雷达套件来满足这一数据需求，以产生对冰盖关键区域的冰厚度、海床地形和裂缝的精细网格测量。海平面上升会对整个全球人口产生巨大的社会和经济影响吗？特别是对于生活在沿海地区目前海平面1米以内的约1.5亿人。SLR预测中的不确定性极大地抑制了我们正确规划和适应不断变化的气候的能力。这项工作的更广泛影响不仅限于减少SLR预测的不确定性。该项目还包括培训大专学生开发下一代遥感技术，使他们更好地为21世纪的职业做好准备。通过将研究和教育相结合，大专学生将通过课堂设计、建造和测试项目获得实践经验。通过这些项目，学生们将接触到推动这项新技术需求的环境和社会问题。这项工作的智力价值包括新传感器平台的技术开发和这一工具将使之能够进行的冰川学研究。主要的技术研究目标是通过以下方式扩大无人机在环境遥感中的应用：1)使用一种新的天线集成和多通道分布式阵列处理方法，克服小型无人机的主要有效载荷限制；2)展示一个更易于操作但具有足够有效载荷能力并足以在极地环境中进行测量的自主平台。S飞行器的飞行能力将以空间范围和分辨率相结合的方式实现裂缝测绘和海床地形数据收集，这将使科学家能够研究：1)测量分辨率对模拟冰盖动态过程的影响；2)海床地形在多个时间尺度上对冰川行为的重要性；以及3)裂缝形成机制和裂缝属性与崩解事件的关联。这一奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The ice sheet mass loss being observed in Greenland and Antarctica directly contributes to global Sea Level Rise (SLR). By the end of this century, scientists predict that changes in the polar ice sheets could contribute anywhere from tens of centimeters to almost two meters in SLR. This large uncertainty in future SLR predictions is due, in part, to insufficient measurements of bedrock topography and surface crevasses in the most critical regions of the ice sheets. These measurements are used by scientists in ice sheet models to predict contributions to SLR. The observational gaps in bedrock topography and surface crevasses limit scientists? abilities to accurately model changes in the dynamic ice sheets. This project addresses this data need by equipping a small drone helicopter with a radar suite to produce fine-grid measurements of ice thickness, bed topography, and crevasses in critical regions of the ice sheet. Rising seas will have huge social and economic impacts on the entire global population ? especially to the estimated 150 million people living in coastal regions at elevations within 1 m of current sea level. The uncertainties in SLR predictions greatly inhibit our ability to properly plan for and adapt to our changing climate. The broader impacts of this work are not limited to reducing uncertainty in SLR predictions. This project also involves the training of post-secondary students in developing next-generation remote sensing technologies to better prepare them for 21st century careers. By integrating research and education, post-secondary students will gain practical experience via classroom design, build, and test projects. Through these projects, students will be exposed to the environmental and social issues that are driving the need for this new technology.The intellectual merits of this work encompass both the technological development of the new sensor-platform and the glaciological studies this tool will enable. The primary technological research goal is to extend the application of drones in environmental remote sensing by: 1) using a novel approach for antenna integration and multi-pass distributed array processing that overcomes major payload limitations of small drones, and 2) demonstrating an autonomous platform that is easier to operate yet has sufficient payload capabilities and is robust enough to conduct measurements in polar environments. The vehicle?s flight capabilities will enable crevasse mapping and bed topography data collection with a combined spatial extent and resolution that will allow scientists to study: 1) the effects of measurement resolution on modeling ice sheet dynamic processes; 2) the significance of bed topography on glacial behavior at multiple time scales; and, 3) crevassing mechanisms and correlating crevasse attributes to calving events.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.