Development of autonomous radar for remotely measuring snow and ice thickness over lakes and rivers / Radar automatique de mesures de l'épaisseur de neige et glace de lacs

该建议包括舍布鲁克大学遥感应用和研究中心（应用地理信息学系）与一个私人伙伴加拿大坎贝尔科学公司合作开发一个测量积雪深度和湖/河冰厚度的自动系统。该系统包括一个调频连续波（FMCW）雷达和一个用于雷达控制和数据记录/存档的电子盒。目前正在开发的检索是基于冰和雪厚度的实时自动提取算法。2015年，我们展示了该系统在冰厚度测量方面的潜力，其精度为±2 cm，具有初步的手持式原型。该系统还可以在固定位置以独立模式使用，用于气象学（自动气象站），或嵌入车辆（例如，雪地摩托或冰路上的卡车），或用于无人机上，以安全地绘制湖泊和河流冰。该项目的目标是首先改进实际原型并确认初步精度结果。然后，我们要证明和验证其他拟议模式的可行性。坎贝尔科学加拿大，在测量和控制产品的天气和气候监测的领导者，是我们的工业合作伙伴，在这个创新的项目具有强大的商业潜力。拟议的传感器将用于环境和冰冻圈应用，如气象学、水文气象学和气候报告以及冬季娱乐应用。这项合作研究和开发（CRD）赠款将允许将这项新技术转让给CSC。

The proposal consists of cooperation between the Center for applications and research in remote sensing (CARTEL) of the Université de Sherbrooke (Department of applied geomatics) and a private partner, Campbell Scientific Canada (CSC), for developing an automatic system measuring snow depth and lake/river ice thickness. The system includes a Frequency Modulated Continuous-Wave (FMCW) radar and an electronic box for radar control and data recording/archiving. The retrieval, currently under development, is based on a real-time automatic extraction algorithm of both ice and snow thickness. In 2015, we demonstrated the potential of this system for ice thickness measurements with an accuracy of ±2 cm with a preliminary handheld prototype. This system could also be used in a standalone mode at a fixed location for meteorology (automatic weather station), or embedded in a vehicle (ex, snowmobile or trucks on ice roads), or used on drones for mapping lake and river ice safely. The objectives of this project are first to improve the actual prototype and to confirm the preliminary accuracy results. We then want to demonstrate and validate the feasibility of the other proposed modes. Campbell Scientific Canada, leader in measurement and control products for weather and climate monitoring, is our industrial partner in this innovative project having a strong commercial potential. The proposed sensor will be used for environmental and cryospheric applications such as meteorology, hydro-meteorology and climate reporting as well as in winter recreational applications. This Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) Grant will allow the transfer of this new technology to CSC.