The Scientific Operations of Snow Eagle 601 in Antarctica in the Past Five Austral Seasons
The Antarctic ice sheet and the continent both play critical roles in global sea level rise and climate change but they remain poorly understood because data collection is greatly limited by the remote location and hostile conditions there. Airborne platforms have been extensively used in Antarctica...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/18/2994 |
| _version_ | 1797553625226018816 |
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| author | Xiangbin Cui Jamin S. Greenbaum Shinan Lang Xi Zhao Lin Li Jingxue Guo Bo Sun |
| author_facet | Xiangbin Cui Jamin S. Greenbaum Shinan Lang Xi Zhao Lin Li Jingxue Guo Bo Sun |
| author_sort | Xiangbin Cui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Antarctic ice sheet and the continent both play critical roles in global sea level rise and climate change but they remain poorly understood because data collection is greatly limited by the remote location and hostile conditions there. Airborne platforms have been extensively used in Antarctica due to their capabilities and flexibility and have contributed a great deal of knowledge to both the ice sheet and the continent. The Snow Eagle 601 fixed-wing airborne platform has been deployed by China for Antarctic expeditions since 2015. Scientific instruments on the airplane include an ice-penetrating radar, a gravimeter, a magnetometer, a laser altimeter, a camera and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). In the past five austral seasons, the airborne platform has been used to survey Princess Elizabeth Land, the largest data gap in Antarctica, as well as other critical areas. This paper reviews the scientific operations of Snow Eagle 601 including airborne and ground-based scientific instrumentation, aviation logistics, field data acquisition and processing and data quality control. We summarize the progress of airborne surveys to date, focusing on scientific motivations, data coverage and national and international collaborations. Finally, we discuss potential regions for applications of the airborne platform in Antarctica and developments of the airborne scientific system for future work. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:19:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-105827284c4c41d681033cf0a93ecea1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:19:13Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-105827284c4c41d681033cf0a93ecea12023-11-20T13:46:13ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-09-011218299410.3390/rs12182994The Scientific Operations of Snow Eagle 601 in Antarctica in the Past Five Austral SeasonsXiangbin Cui0Jamin S. Greenbaum1Shinan Lang2Xi Zhao3Lin Li4Jingxue Guo5Bo Sun6Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, ChinaInstitute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758, USAFaculty of Information Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, ChinaChinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaPolar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, ChinaPolar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, ChinaPolar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, ChinaThe Antarctic ice sheet and the continent both play critical roles in global sea level rise and climate change but they remain poorly understood because data collection is greatly limited by the remote location and hostile conditions there. Airborne platforms have been extensively used in Antarctica due to their capabilities and flexibility and have contributed a great deal of knowledge to both the ice sheet and the continent. The Snow Eagle 601 fixed-wing airborne platform has been deployed by China for Antarctic expeditions since 2015. Scientific instruments on the airplane include an ice-penetrating radar, a gravimeter, a magnetometer, a laser altimeter, a camera and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). In the past five austral seasons, the airborne platform has been used to survey Princess Elizabeth Land, the largest data gap in Antarctica, as well as other critical areas. This paper reviews the scientific operations of Snow Eagle 601 including airborne and ground-based scientific instrumentation, aviation logistics, field data acquisition and processing and data quality control. We summarize the progress of airborne surveys to date, focusing on scientific motivations, data coverage and national and international collaborations. Finally, we discuss potential regions for applications of the airborne platform in Antarctica and developments of the airborne scientific system for future work.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/18/2994Snow Eagle 601aerogeophysicsPrincess Elizabeth Landice-penetrating radarAntarctic ice sheet |
| spellingShingle | Xiangbin Cui Jamin S. Greenbaum Shinan Lang Xi Zhao Lin Li Jingxue Guo Bo Sun The Scientific Operations of Snow Eagle 601 in Antarctica in the Past Five Austral Seasons Remote Sensing Snow Eagle 601 aerogeophysics Princess Elizabeth Land ice-penetrating radar Antarctic ice sheet |
| title | The Scientific Operations of Snow Eagle 601 in Antarctica in the Past Five Austral Seasons |
| title_full | The Scientific Operations of Snow Eagle 601 in Antarctica in the Past Five Austral Seasons |
| title_fullStr | The Scientific Operations of Snow Eagle 601 in Antarctica in the Past Five Austral Seasons |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Scientific Operations of Snow Eagle 601 in Antarctica in the Past Five Austral Seasons |
| title_short | The Scientific Operations of Snow Eagle 601 in Antarctica in the Past Five Austral Seasons |
| title_sort | scientific operations of snow eagle 601 in antarctica in the past five austral seasons |
| topic | Snow Eagle 601 aerogeophysics Princess Elizabeth Land ice-penetrating radar Antarctic ice sheet |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/18/2994 |
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