The document discusses the use of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for monitoring changes in the Arctic cryosphere. UAVs have potential for frequent, year-round monitoring of areas like glaciers, sea ice, and ice sheets to provide detailed data to supplement information from satellite and aircraft campaigns. Specific projects mentioned include high-resolution mapping of the Kangerlussuaq glacier in western Greenland using a fixed-wing drone equipped with scanning lidar sensors. Ongoing research at the new Villum Station Nord science station in northern Greenland involves deploying various drones including the Penguin B for sea ice and ice sheet studies.

1. Rene Forsberg
Geodynamics Dept, DTU-Space
rf@space.dtu.dk
UAVs and the Arctic
Lidar mapping of sea ice and ice cap changes
from fixed-wing drones (and aircraft)
DTU Space / COWI, KNS glacier, Aug 2013

2. Drone use in Greenland …
• Urban and settlement mapping/ASIAQ (E-bees)
• Emergency services
• Mining and tailings mapping
• Sciences – archeology, biology, glaciology
(mapping/imagery)
Upcoming / future:
• Defense – surveilance, sovereignity, situational
awareness …
• Search and Rescue
• Communications relays …
• Environent /landslide/cryosphere monitoring …
• ??
Nuuk
Uummaanaq

3. Monitoring the Arctic cryosphere changes ..
Space missions give the overview … space agency focus (ESA, NASA, …)
Details and validation by aircraft, drones and in-situ campaings
Drones have the potential for frequent, year-round monitoring
CryoSat GRACE GOCE
Greenland ice sheet elevations
from CryoSat (DTU-Space)

4. Greenland ice sheet changes ..
Rapid melt of the ice sheet margins and outlet glaciers (ESA CryoSat, Sentinel-3)
Increasing ice velocity for outlet glaciers .. especially in summer (ESA Sentinel-1)
Global concern: sea level rise .. (p.t. 0.7 mm/year)
Height changes (DTU) Ice Velocities (Enveo)

5. Cryosphere
changes …
Land ice: global
Sea ice:
- local fishery
and hunting
- ship navigation
- climate feedbacks
Jakobshavn glacier front
Arctic Ocean sea ice
north of Greenland
Qaanaaq

6. Changing ice cover in the Arctic Ocean
1979 2007
The satellite measurements since 1979 shows a gradual decrease with acceleration
in recent years … 2007 onwards new records year by year…

7. Sea ice thickness …
Sea ice thickness a special problem for
space and sub-orbital flight:
Principle: measurement of freeboard ..
Lead
Example of laserscanning of sea ice
Arctic Ocean north of Greenland
300 m wide swath
Ice thickness 2-3 m
Ice Ridges

8. UAV’s for research/climate
- Testing small and medium UAV’s:
Glacier mapping, sea ice, icebergs, urban mapping
High-techonology fund project – ”smart UAV”
- Sensor development:
Lightweight GPS, miniature IMU, geodetic GPS,
scanning lidar, magnetometer …
- Polar deployments (Villum Station Nord)
- Other cooperations:
NASA/Danish Defense (GlobalHawk tests in Greenland)
MonMap/Mongolia (glacier surveys) ..
Villum Station Nord lidar droneHawkeye UAV / MonMap, Mongolia
Snow mapping in Svalbard

9. Drones for measuring cryosphere elevation changes…
Challenges: down-sizing of sensors (GPS, lidar, radar ..)
Off-the-shelf: Camera solutions – dense flight pattern… static
objects (i.e. drifting sea ice not working)
Single-profile measurements – laser scanning / BVLOS drones
Elevation change KNS–glacier near Nuuk
2013-2009 (skale 0-80 m)
Drone fotomosaic KNS 2013

10. KNS glacier
front
Short-term
Glacier changes

11. DTU Space DroneCenter 2014-
Research
o Development of Smart UAV (fixed-wing VTOL)
o Close cooperation with Sky-Watch and InteGra
o UAV landing on moving platforms (AutoDescent)
o Mini Aerial Vehicle (MAV)
o Development of sensors for use on unmanned platforms
(gravimeter, magnetometer, LiDAR)
o Formationflying and “swarming” using high precision-navigation
and antikollision-teknology for “proximity operations”
SmartUAV Hugin-X1
Cumulus-1

12. Cooperation with NASA Armstrong Flight
Research Facility, Northrop Grumman
Corporation og NOAA to use NASA
Global Hawk in the Arctic.
US cooperation: large drones

13. Airborne remote sensing / geophysics
CryoVex 2017
Blå: Marts (POF)
Green: April (FAZ)
- GPS/INS, Positioning @ cm level
- Scanning lidar
- Radar (Ku-band, VHF, P-band)
- Gravimeter, magnetometers

14. CryoSat validation campaigns ..

15. Sea-ice freeboard by lidar

16. Mow-the-lawn
flight over R/V Lance
April 24, 2015

17. Villum: UAV – Penguin B (payload 10 kg – BVLOS ops)
Velodyne Puck and
Riegl VUX-1 lidar
Stn
Nord

18. Villum Penguin B
lidar setup ..
(gasoline engine, skis under
construction, servicing ….)
Lidar
GPS/IMU
Iridium
Autopilot controller
GoPro camera below
Science computer

19. Villum Station Nord, Greenland
New science station – 10 million Euro
Private foundation funding – open 2015
Århus University lead ..
Fleet of drones:
E-bees, Penguin B/C, Prion Mk3
Flights from DK via Svalbard
Close to ice cap, sea ice, tundra ..
www.villumresearchstation.dk

20. Drones in the Arctic
Numerous applications … society, military, research …
Scanning lidar to supplement airborne and satellite
data acquisitions for cryosphere changes and
satellite data cal/val ..
Penguin-B campaigns:
Ice cap (Kangerlussuaq) Oct 2017, sea ice (St Nord) Apr 2017