UAV Will Peer Underneath Glaciers For Water

Researchers in Kansas are building an unmanned aircraft, to better map and understand Antarctic and Greenland ice-sheet disintegration.

Carrying ground-penetrating radar, the Meridian Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is designed to peer beneath the glacier to see if any water lies between it and the ground. This information is critical in predicting when the ice might slip off into the ocean and causing ocean levels to rise.

Using a UAV for this mapping work will cut the risk to human pilots, who can fly only limited missions. It  will also speed up the mapping process.

"We can cut costs for large-scale mapping projects, increase the range, and reduce dangers," said University of Kansas associate professor of aerospace engineering and team leader Rick Hale.

The radar Meridian will carry was developed by the university and other institutions and can provide detailed pictures of ice layers specifically the space between the bottom of the glacier and the ground, according to the MIT Technology Review.

"Basically, our radar can see deeper, and with better resolution, than any of the other competitors out there at the moment," says Claude Laird, a University of Kansas research scientist.

The 125 pound radar unit beams signals through the ice at several frequencies, then analyzes the time of the signals' return for a clear picture of ice and rock surface contours, water packets and subsurface ice layers.

Laird put the radar through its paces this summer during an overland expedition in Greenland to select a site for a future  ice-core drilling expedition.

The plane is designed to fly in conditions and low altitudes that would prove hazardous to a human pilot.

The UAV will have three means of communication -- remote control for takeoffs and landings, radio-frequency communications, for the times it is near a base camp, and satellite communications, for the times it is as far away as 372 miles from a base camp.

The UAV's wingspan of 26 feet will have de-icing abilities. The aircraft will also sport heaters to protect the electronic systems from the extreme cold.

Meridian is scheduled to make its maiden flight on Greenland in the summer of 2008. Providing all goes well, it will then be put to work during the Antarctic summer later on in the year, said Hale.

FMI: www.ku.edu