What's New

In collaboration with the Automatic Weather Station project, a prototype system was designed and fielded at the GAGE test facility near McMurdo Station. The antarctic-grade weather instruments are integrated with the GPS power and communications systems, and data is being delivered to University of Wisconsin. Also being tested at this station during winter 2012 is a Leading Edge LEv50 wind turbine, to assess its performance during the polar winter.

Areas of high annual ablation present unique challenges for measurement of glacial dynamics. GAGE now offers a system designed for this environment, featuring GPS monumentation and power systems mounted on single poles. These poles are set into holes drilled deep into the glacier surface, remaining vertical as the surface ablates away. Shown is one such system in Greenland after a year's operation.

• The Trimble NetR9 receiver is now being deployed by GAGE Polar. This receiver supports remote Iridium communications, has improved satellite tracking functionality, and good cold performance without a significant increase in power consumption.

• GAGE Polar campaign GPS systems have been redesigned, including new solar regulators, wiring and connectors, enclosure, physical layout, and documentation.

• GAGE has completed a project with Xeos Technologies to develop the next generation of polar-worthy Iridium communications hardware. The XI-100 modem offers advanced thermal management, optimized single-channel Iridium SBD + RUDICS communications, TCP/IP connectivity to remote devices, with minimized power consumption. Prototype field demonstrations have been successful. Development continues and deployments are planned for Greenland and Antarctica in 2011.

Reliable remote autonomous power and communication systems designed specifically for the extreme polar environment are available. Two distinct system designs - the Polar Plateau System designed for extreme cold and moderate wind and the Continental Margin System designed for extreme winds and moderate temperatures - are both intended to minimize lositical installation expenses. Similar systems for seismic research are available from IRIS/PASSCAL. This new support capability for polar research is the outcome of the NSF sponsored development project NSF-ANT 0619908. For more information see the project proposal.

GAGE has purchased an Optech ILRIS-3D Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) as part of the Aquisition of a Terrestrial Laser Scanning System for Polar Research proposal. The TLS system is a shared resource managed by the GAGE Facility.

The International Polar Year POLENET project began with the installation of 23 new CGPS stations in Greenland, and another 17 stations are slated to be installed in Antarctica during the 2007-08 field season. The systems deployed represent the remote polar CGPS systems best-practices, are the product of the IRIS/GAGE/community power and communications system development MRI proposal effort. The POLENET project has an open data policy, and the extent of the network provides valuable infrastructure for the larger community. Much of the data are downloaded daily via Iridium satellite communications. Network maps and data access are available from the GAGE data archive.

A goal of the power and communications system MRI proposal is to make the systems available to the broader polar research community. The current "Polar margins" systems are designed to withstand the extreme environment of the polar margins (extreme winds and moderate cold), and power a 5W system year-round. The systems weigh 1200 lbs, fit in most helicopters, and can be set up in a few hours. Polar researchers may contact GAGE to include these "best-practices" power system kits in their proposals, and availability is not limited to GPS users. For further information contact projectsunavco.org.

The National Science Foundation recently awarded funding to GAGE for the proposal Aquisition of a Terrestrial Laser Scanning System for Polar Research. The goal is to acquire a single TLS instrument and develop the necessary support capability to deploy the instrument on PI projects. The TLS system will be a shared resource managed by the GAGE Facility and integrated into GAGE’s ongoing support for NSF-OPP projects. Considering the expense of TLS equipment and the expertise needed for successful operation, this approach represents the most cost effective means of making this technology accessible to the OPP research community.

The National Science Foundation recently awarded funding to IRIS and GAGE for a unique proposal to design and build a reliable power and communication system for autonomous polar station operation. This development effort will involve close collaboration with Antarctic seismologists and GPS scientists. The stated goals of this project are to use the latest power and communication technologies, linked with the collective experience and expertise of the science community and IRIS/GAGE staff to 1) design, integrate, and test a scalable power and communication system optimized for ease of deployment and reliable multi-year operation in severe polar environments; and 2) provide an initial pool of these systems for deployment and testing in science experiments. Access to the new systems through GAGE and IRIS will open doors for scientists and institutions that do not have the technical and field skills currently required to execute remote polar GPS and seismic research projects. A Polar Networks Science Committee (PNSC) has also been formed to advise and assist the GAGE and IRIS/PASSCAL facilities on this and future projects. More general information can be found at the GAGE Remote Station Engineering page.

A GPS base station (ATQK) in Atqasuk provides a local source of geodetic quality differential corrections for GPS data post-processing by scientists and others operating in the Atqasuk area on the Alaska North Slope. The station is located at the ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) which provides security, power, and ethernet communications.

GAGE and VECO Polar Resources (VPR) operate a GPS system at Summit Camp, Greenland in support of National Science Foundation sponsored research. This RTK system provides centimeter level differential corrections to properly equipped users in the vicinity of Summit Camp, simplifying many GPS survey tasks that would otherwise require time consuming collection and post-processing of data. The equipment may also be used for post-processed static and kinematic surveys.

GAGE now provides a global data communication solution for geodetic GPS data retrieval based on the Iridium satellite system.

Resources for testing and validation of components and systems for remote Polar extreme environment applications include the Niwot Ridge facility at 11,600ft elevation on the continental divide, the Marshall facilty outside of Boulder, and a Thermotron environmental test chamber at GAGE.

GAGE and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology have installed a differential GPS system at the Toolik Lake field station. The Trimble 5700 base and rover system provides centimeter-level precision in real-time and through post-processing.

New addition to GAGE receiver pool. Low power (3.8W), internet enabled, L2C tracking, high-memory (1Gb, GAGE configuration) geodetic receiver for permanent station applications.

New addition to GAGE receiver pool. 19 L2C tracking, low power (<3W), high-memory (512Mb) geodetic receivers were added to the OPP receiver pool for extended campaign and semi-permanent applications.

Development, system engineering, and testing are ongoing activities to meet the specific technical challenges of providing standardized, robust telemetry and power systems at remote high-latitude locations.

The NSF-OPP contributed Trimble 5700 receivers in the GAGE pool now total 21, reflecting the increasing demand for long-term, continuous data collections.

GAGE and the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium operate a differential GPS system in Barrow. The Trimble 5700 base and rover system provides centimeter-level precision.

New addition to GAGE receiver pool. Low power (<3W), high-memory (128Mb) geodetic receiver for extended campaign and semi-permanent applications.

Easy to use hand-held GPS receivers
with barometric altimeter and electronic compass.