These new dGPS units seem to be accurate to around 2cm as shown in our test. This is for a close baseline (and at the moment doesn’t use GLONASS).
Testing the Piksi Multi from Swift Navigation. North/East relative position of rover – in a 96s test in an open space. The readings are quoted as accurate to 0.023m H 0.037m V.
Iceberg tracker temperatures from 9/8/16 to 7/10/16
We have been checking the iceberg tracker temperature as one way of telling if it is in the sea is a flatter daily variation in temperatures. Here you can see it did regularly read sub-zero at midnight then warmer an noon. Recently however it is showing mainly positive temperatures.
iceberg tracker locations up to 7/10/16
After spending weeks among the small islands in the centre of this map – it has moved south until reaching land again. This dramatic movement may be because the iceberg has broken up.
this shows the glacier-sea front where icebergs calve (Photo: Formula E)
The sea near the glacier – with a variety of icebergs (Photo: Formula E)
Formula E car driving on a glacier in Greenland. This photo shows the icebergs in the sea – like the one we are tracking from here. Photo courtesy Formula E team.
This is the scenic video of Lucas di Grassi driving a Formula E car on a Greenland glacier.
Together with the sustainability team of Formula E we were able to put a GPS tracker on an emerging Iceberg in order to see its movement in great detail. The box contains a tracker which sends the GPS location and temperature twice per day via satellite messages.
Our GPS data is showing us that the iceberg we are tracking has been drawn into some islands and has stopped moving significantly. The MODIS image data from Nasa was very clear on this day and it is possible to see ice between the islands:
Satellite image of the iceberg being tracked in Greenland – on Aug 29th 2016
This is a GPS tracker we quickly built as a test of tracking icebergs – it uses Satellite (Iridium) short text messages to send its location to us every 12hrs. Inside is a large lithium battery pack. The photo below shows a water test in the sink – just in case it ends up in the sea. We used a unit from YB Tracking. More info later!
GPS satellite tracker we built for a test on a Greenland iceberg
A 2015 paper by University of Washington and Google used Briks’ as an example where mass observation via Flikr could be used to create long term timelapses. See their video on youtube.
We’re investigating the texture of till using CT scans. This shows successive sections through a sample.
Moving along the z-axis through a CT volume
The first step in the analysis is to extract the shapes of the clasts (rock fragments) embedded in the sample. These show up mainly as red in the sections above. The shape below is a clast about 3 mm long.
Phil setting up a new dipole antenna to try communications with the subglacial probes
We are back in Iceland on June 6th – rather early for the snow it seems!
The snow on the moraine and road was very deep. Here you can just see the top of the GPS antenna (which is on a tripod!) and the camera.
after a lot of digging we reached the dGPS box so we could copy the data
we usually use the ladder to get up to the balcony where our reference station lives – but there was so much snow we could just walk up!
The panel wifi antenna had self-destructed but the long range WiFi was still ok.