Researchers at CReSIS Build Radar System to Extend Range of Ice Surveys and Close 'Data Gaps'
Researchers at the Center for Remote Sensing and Integrated Systems, headquartered at the University of Kansas, have received almost $1 million from the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation program to design and build an adaptable radar system for long-range unmanned aerial systems.
With the new radar, scientists at CReSIS, the KU School of Engineering and other researchers will be able to gather more complete data on ice-sheet thickness in some of the most remote expanses of Antarctica and Greenland. The new system also could improve ice-discharge estimates and make it easier to routinely monitor snow cover on sea ice.
“This builds off what we already do at CReSIS with our sounding radars,” said lead researcher Emily Arnold, associate professor of aerospace engineering at KU. “The unique thing about the radar system we're going to develop is it’s reconfigurable. It will have a common digital back end but a swappable RF front end. This radar will be able to operate over a much wider range of frequencies. Instead of having to design and develop three discrete systems, we can just design this one. Then, we could do a variety of missions looking at different parameters.”