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Performance Assessment of a Small LIDAR Altimeter Deployed on Unmanned Aircraft for Glacier and Sea Ice Surface Topography Profiling

Performance Assessment of a Small LIDAR Altimeter Deployed on Unmanned Aircraft for Glacier and Sea Ice Surface Topography Profiling
Type: 
Poster
Ian Crocker1, James Maslanik2, Scott Palo3, Chuck Fowler4, John Adler5, Ute Herzfeld6, Matt Fladeland7, Betsy Weatherhead8, Mark Angier9
1Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, CCAR, 431 UCB, Engineering Center, ECNT 323, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA, crockerr [at] colorado [dot] edu
2Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Boulder, CO, USA, james [dot] maslanik [at] colorado [dot] edu
3Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Boulder, CO, USA, scott [dot] palo [at] colorado [dot] edu
4Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Boulder, CO, USA, cfowler [at] colorado [dot] edu
5University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA, john [dot] adler [at] colorado [dot] edu
6University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA, ute [dot] herzfeld [at] colorado [dot] edu
7NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, USA, Matthew [dot] Fladeland [at] nasa [dot] gov
8NOAA, Boulder, CO, USA, Betsy [dot] Weatherhead [at] noaa [dot] gov
9Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc., Tucson, AZ, USA, mangier [at] acrtucson [dot] com

The recently developed CU (University of Colorado, Boulder) LIDAR Profilometer and Imaging System (CULPIS) has been successfully integrated into multiple unmanned aircraft (UA) and deployed in the Arctic to provide glacier and sea ice imagery and surface elevation measurements. In July 2008, as part of the Arctic MUltiSensor Cryospheric Observation eXperiment (MUSCOX), the CULPIS was flown onboard the Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc. Manta UA to map a region of supraglacial melt lakes in the vicinity of Jakobshavn Glacier, Greenland. In July 2009, as part of the Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment (CASIE), the CULPIS was flown onboard NASA's SIERRA UA and collected surface topography data over more than 2500km of sea ice in Fram Strait. The CULPIS performance is assessed with respect to its ability to provide accurate surface elevation measurements and imagery suitable for cryospheric surface roughness and topography studies. Emphasis is placed on the system's capability of regenerating a known, ground-surveyed surface from data collected at altitude. Aircraft attitude and differential GPS corrections are examined to determine their effect on reducing surface elevation measurement error. A high-resolution digital elevation model for the Greenland study region is presented, and Fram Strait sea ice surface roughness and freeboard characteristics are discussed.

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National Science Foundation | Division of Arctic Sciences
National Science Foundation
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Arctic System Science Program
Arctic System Science Program
US Arctic Research Commission
US Arctic Research Commission
North Slope Science Initiative
North Slope Science Initiative
International Arctic Science Committee
International Arctic Science Committee
Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Department of Energy
Department of Energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
World Wildlife Fund
WWF
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
International Study of Arctic Change
International Study of Arctic Change
ArcticNet
ArcticNet
DAMOCLES
Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the ARCUS Cooperative Agreement ARC-0618885. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.