Called IceNode, the project envisions a fleet of autonomous robots that would help determine the melt rate of ice shelves.
A prototype of a robot built to access underwater areas where Antarctic ice shelves meet land is lowered through the ice during a field test north of Alaska in March. JPL is developing the concept, called IceNode, to take melt-rate measurements that would improve the accuracy of sea level rise projections.Conducted through the U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory’s biennial Ice Camp, this field test marked IceNode’s first in a polar environment.
A remote camera captured an IceNode prototype deployed below the frozen surface of Lake Superior, off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, during a field test in 2022. The three thin legs of the robot’s “landing gear” affix the prototype to the icy ceiling.ing are among Earth’s most inaccessible.
Released from a borehole or a vessel in the open ocean, the robots would ride those currents on a long journey beneath an ice shelf. Upon reaching their targets, the robots would each drop their ballast and rise to affix themselves to the bottom of the ice. Their sensors would measure how fast warm, salty ocean water is circulating up to melt the ice, and how quickly colder, fresher meltwater is sinking.
The test was conducted through the U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory’s biennial Ice Camp, a three-week operation that provides researchers a temporary base camp from which to conduct field work in the Arctic environment.
Climate Science Cryosphere Earth Jet Propulsion Laboratory Robotics
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Algae here, alien life out there — Cal State L.A.-JPL partnership connects engineers to astrobiologyJPL hires Cal State Los Angeles civil engineering students with NASA grant. The interns can do research for NASA and learn about connections between astrobiology and science here on Earth.
Read more »
Woman drowns in California river, held underwater by dog’s tangled leashThe woman had her German shepherd with her, the leash attached to a harness she was wearing.
Read more »
UK startup’s yachts to use underwater turbines for green hydrogen productionDrift Energy aims to deploy a fleet of high-performance sailing vessels that can harness ocean winds to produce green hydrogen.
Read more »
Jaylen Brown Shared Cool Photos of His Intense Underwater Workout in NBA OffseasonThe Celtics star took his training to new depths summer.
Read more »
Study reveals devastating power and colossal extent of a giant underwater avalanche off the Moroccan coastNew research by the University of Liverpool has revealed how an underwater avalanche grew more than 100 times in size, causing a huge trail of destruction as it traveled 2,000km across the Atlantic Ocean seafloor off the North West coast of Africa.
Read more »
Mapping the Monstrous Underwater Avalanche That Carved a 1250-Mile Path of RuinScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Read more »