Instruments on Dornier. Photo: Rannveig H. StibergIn this module, new interdisciplinary research infrastructure is introduced, which will contribute unique data collection capacities of new data time series and process studies supporting the cross-disciplinary priorities of SIOS. The fact that the infrastructure and sensor capacities have multiple applications leads to the creation of the Common Infrastructure Module.
The module contains one manned aircraft platform and one unmanned platform. The sensor suite mounted on the manned platform has already been installed in a pod permanently affixed to the Lufttransport Dornier DO228 aircraft based in Longyearbyen. The instrumentation includes a hyperspectral imager, X-band synthetic aperture radar and a high-resolution high sensitivity camera. The Dornier platform has a range of 2000 km which is covered in about 5-6 hours. The unmanned platform consists of two medium size multirotor drones, using a proven off the shelf system that has a very small operational footprint making it easy to deploy them in remote field locations or on ships. The multirotor drones are equipped with a range of cameras and will be used for terrestrial ecology studies, animal population and behaviour studies, land forms and hydrology studies.
In support of the SIOS observatories for monitoring Arctic ocean inflow and outflow, the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) will develop and set up the production of time series of satellite remote sensing ocean products based on satellite SAR data from Radarsat-2 and Sentinel-1. This includes high-resolution wind, ocean surface currents, altimetry, gravimetry, and high-resolution sea ice drift and sea-ice types. From optical satellite data from Modis and Sentinel-2, weekly high resolution chlorophyll concentration maps will be created. Provided sufficient resolution, some of these datasets may also be applicable to the shelf region observatories in Kongsfjorden and Isfjorden. The in situ data obtained in other parts of the project will thus also serve as a valuable validation source for the remote sensing algorithms.
Table 4: Items that are part of the common infrastructure module of SIOS-InfraNor. *indicates item is funded by NoSA, all other items are funded by RCN and in-kind contributions from project partners.
ID#
|
Description
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Owner
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18
|
Instruments to be installed in Dornier DO228 POD, airborne SAR, VNIR hyperspectral Imager, vis/NIR aerial camera and laser scanner.
|
Norut
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23*
|
Satellite SAR wind retrieval to produce daily maps of wind speed and direction, and monthly surface current maps
|
NERSC
|
27*
|
Satellite based high resolution chlorophyll concentration, weekly maps
|
NERSC
|
78
|
Two medium size multirotor drones with NDVI, RGB and thermal cameras
|
Norut
|