The National Science Foundation Division of Polar Programs awarded Western Washington University a $236,854 Project Grant under the Polar Programs federal grant program (CFDA 47.078) to develop an integrated unmanned aerial system capable of autonomously retrieving impurity-laden Arctic sea ice samples and collecting hyperspectral surface property data. The award period is from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2024. Through this funding, the University will transform field sampling of snow and ice surface biogeochemistry by developing a robotic sampling device and hyperspectral remote sensing imager for unmanned aerial vehicles. The integrated system will allow for rapid collection of spectral data to document the impact of impurity-laden ice on sea ice albedo and increased frequency of observations from normally inaccessible ice floes through the robotic arm. The system will be tested in the Arctic Ocean and Pacific Northwest and has broad applications for sampling in heavily crevassed glaciers and ice sheets.
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