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Future Science Opportunities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean (2011) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix C: Promising Technologies for Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science
Pages 169-176

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From page 169...
... Scientists rely on various technologies to overcome these challenges, and, as new technologies emerge, they can unlock new opportunities for accessing new locations for research, obtaining new data, and other ways to improve scientific endeavors in this remote region. In the coming decades, new technologies will offer significant opportunities to improve, among other things, the instrumentation and infrastructure involved in scientific research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
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From page 170...
... An emerging technology of importance for the sea-ice-covered Southern Ocean is the longduration float, which is programmed to profile repeatedly in ice-covered oceans without transmitting data on each ascent. The float uses a collision avoidance algorithm to test for ice or open water above it, and data transmission occurs only when the float can surface through open water.
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From page 171...
... A new AUV design employing buoyancy-driven propulsion has a significantly expanded operational range of thousands of kilometers (Bellingham et al., 2010) ; see Figure C.2.
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From page 172...
... Ice cover in the Weddell Sea makes it difficult to obtain data on the continental shelf and slope, especially in winter. During IPY measurements were taken from acoustically tracked floats and instruments carried by various types of seals; see Figure C.3.
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From page 173...
... FIGURE C.4 Hercules turboprop aircraft modified for Antarctica. Current design is LC-130 with modifications that allow LIDAR and RADAR observations of continental ice characteristics and thickness.
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From page 174...
... Knowledge gained from previous drilling projects (such as the Deep Sea Drilling Project, the Ocean Drilling Program, and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) has been extended to the ANDRILL (Antarctic Geological Drilling)
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From page 175...
... Methods such as hot-water drilling, coiled-tube drilling, and hybrid systems adapted to ice sheet drilling require additional engineering to enable multiple drill sites over the next 20 years. Improved technologies for rapid drilling will allow the production of multiple arrays of boreholes covering large areas (Tulaczyk et al., 2002)
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Key Terms

  • unmanned aerial
  • drilling technologies
  • ice sheet
  • drilling program
  • autonomous underwater

  • operational range
  • instrument platforms
  • aerial vehicles
  • elephant seal
  • ocean drilling

  • avoidance algorithm
  • southern elephant
  • underwater vehicles
  • lake ellsworth
  • atmospheric observations

  • bedrock topography
  • previous drilling
  • neutral buoyancy
  • five countries
  • ing technology

  • instruments carried
  • nental shelf
  • significant opportunities
  • rapid drilling
  • range based

  • acoustically tracked
  • floats neutral
  • allow atmospheric
  • buoyancy floats
  • novel sensors


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