2011 Edition - Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - The ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

CReSIS Research » »Data Collected on World's Fastest Flowing GlaciersResearchers from the Center forthe Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets(CReSIS) spent two months thisspring in Greenland, measuring the icethickness and surface topography ofsome of the fastest flowing glaciers in theworld. The collected data allow climateresearchers to better assess the changesin the Greenland ice sheet and make moreaccurate predictions of rising sea levels.EECS Research Professor FernandoRodriguez-Morales led the team thatincluded EECS graduate students DanielGomez-Garcia and Logan Smith. Theteam completed 12 science flights overfour different glaciers. Dr. Rodriguez-Morales oversaw the field operationsand ran the Multi-Channel Radar DepthSounder (MCoRDS), which measured icethickness, during most flights. Gomez-Garcia operated the Accumulation radarand the Ku-band altimeter. The formermaps variations in the snow accumulationrate while the latter retrieves ice surfacetopography data with high resolution.Gomez-Garcia also developed processingsoftware for the radars. Smith, whoremained on the ground most days,processed the data collected by theCReSIS radars.“These are some of the most significantoutlet glaciers, which are the maintributaries for getting ice from the interiorof Greenland to the calving front, or outto the edges, where it breaks off intoicebergs that melt and can potentiallylead to a rise in sea level,” said Smith.Researchers made acouple major changesto MCoRDS before thedeployment. To improveresolution and increasethe number of antennaelements, the MCoRDSoperated at 195 MHz,as opposed to thetraditional frequencyof 150 MHz. CReSISresearchers decreasedthe size of antenna whileincreasing the numberof them on each wing.This new configurationoffered greater flexibilityto rotate antennaorientation, helpingduring a flight.reduce surface clutterin crevassed areas andminimize electronicinterference from aircraft sub-systems.The associated electronics were upgradedto capture the received signals from all12 antenna elements, which enabledpowerful beam forming capabilities inpost-processing.While Gomez-Garcia had taken part in theNASA Operation IceBridge program lastyear, this was his first trip to the Arctic.He said the smaller plane allowed him tomore easily interact with Dr. Rodriguez-Morales and the pilots. The CReSIS groupwas the only one on board the TwinOtter aircraft, giving researchers greaterflexibility with their flights. If the weatherwas good and they needed to takeEECS graduate student Daniel Gomez-Garcia takes calibration measurementsPhoto by Logan Smithanother pass over a target of interest, theycould.The sporadic spring weather complicatedthe mission. It became a wait-and-seegame. The researchers would get up andprepare for a flight that could then bedelayed or postponed for the day. Dr.Rodriguez-Morales noted that people whohad been going there for 20 years said itwas the worst year they had seen.“What we’re trying to achieve is alwaysto get better results than previous years,and there’s a lot of things that we haveimproved,” said Gomez-Garcia. •Nick Mott contributed to this article.www.eecs.ku.edu
The Center for the Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) is working tobetter understand the dynamics of the world's ice sheets, their effect onsea level rise, and the subsequent impact on society.CReSIS Assists in Largest Airborne Polar Ice SurveyCReSIS once again participatedin NASA’s Operation IceBridgemission this fall. IceBridge, thelargest airborne survey of ice at thepolar regions, marked its third year inthe six-year reconnaissance project.An international team of researchersmeasured Antarctica's polar ice sheets andsea ice to help forecast how the ice sheetswill respond to changes in climate."We imaged an ice rift in formation onPine Island Glacier and flew surveys overRecovery and Slessor Glaciers, which haveonly been sparsely surveyed in the past.We also produced the first 3-D image ofthe ice bottom from the DC-8 platform,using the MCoRDS [Multi-Channel RadarDepth Sounder] array antennas thisseason," said CReSIS Assistant ResearchProfessor John Paden, who was fieldleader and operated the MCoRDS radar."At a time when glaciers and ice sheetsare showing rapid changes, we needconsistent data that shows how andwhy that change is happening," saidIceBridge Project Scientist MichaelStudinger in a press release. "With threeyears of IceBridge data in hand, we havesuccessfully continued the ice sheetelevation record in key areas and brokennew ground in understanding the natureof the bedrock under ice sheets and theshape of the seafloor under ice shelves."Three CReSIS radar systems were installedon NASA’s DC-8 aircraft and flown overhigh risk areas. The MCoRDS, with anantenna mountedunderneath thefuselage, measuredthe thickness of the icesheet. It can be used todetect if liquid existsat the base of the icesheet. The presenceof liquid couldgreatly accelerate themovement of the icesheets.The Snow and Ku-bandradars have antennasinstalled in the wingroots. The former candetect thin, annualaccumulation layers down to 60 metersdepth. The Ku-band radar provides fineresolution surface topography to measurechanges in the height of the ice sheetsover time. The Ku-band radar is used tovalidate and better understand Cryosat-2satellite radar measurements.EECS doctoral student Ben Panzer, whoran the Snow and Ku-band radars, saysthe team doubled their sea ice flights—sixthis time. Sea ice thickness provides anindication of the stability of the Antarcticsea ice pack from year to year. The radarsmeasure the snow thickness on the seaice.Depending on weather conditions, themissions were flown at low altitudes(1,000 to 2,000 feet above the surface).The Snow and Ku-band radars collectabout 400 gigabytes of raw data for eachEECS doctoral student Ben Panzer (right) discusses research with NASA's JohnSonntag as they fly over Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica.Photo courtesy of NASAflight and the MCoRDS systems collectsabout 2 terabytes (TB) per flight, whichresulted in over 40 TB of raw data for thewhole season. In comparison, it took theHubble Space Telescope 20 years to amass45 TB of data.EECS graduate student ShashankaJagarlapudi, who took part in his firstCReSIS deployment, processed datagathered from the 10-12 hour daily flights,when weather permitted. The CReSIS teamlogged more than 210 hours in the air. •Jennifer Salva and Shawn Schaller contributedto this article.EECS News 2011 27
Page 1 and 2: Department ofElectrical Engineering
Page 3 and 4: PerspectiveIn one ofthe mostproduct
Page 6 and 7: Department News » »New Student Se
Page 8 and 9: Department News » »Distinguished
Page 10 and 11: New FacultyExperts in Data Privacy,
Page 12 and 13: Faculty Awards » »Innovative Teac
Page 14 and 15: Undergraduate SpotlightMeet EECS se
Page 16 and 17: Self Fellows » »Students Design H
Page 18 and 19: Jayhawk Motorsports » »Students B
Page 20 and 21: Graduate SpotlightMeet EECS doctora
Page 22: Graduate Student Success » »DoD A
Page 27: Tools Test Software CorrectnessTech
Page 31 and 32: Alumni SpotlightTshering Shares Inc

2011 Edition - Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - The ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?