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The Wild White Yonder

It was about 25°C (-13°F) this week in Qaanaaq, Greenland (Latitude 77°N), when WHOI post-doc Peter Kimball tested a prototype unmanned aerial system (UAS) developed by him and WHOI colleagues Hanu Singh, John Bailey, and David Fisichella. The plane will fly above sea ice and glaciers, equipped with a camera to create a high-resolution photomosaic of the ice. Scientific colleagues hope to overlay the photomosaic atop measurements of ice thickness taken with a ground sensor pulled by dog sled. The idea for the UAS arose from Bailey’s hobby flying remote-controlled model airplanes. He and Singh saw it as an inexpensive way to collect aerial data. Read more about the team’s work on the expedition blog.

(Photo by Hanumant Singh, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)