 |
||||
|
ABSTRACT Visual documentation of glaciers can provide daily, seasonal, and yearly statistics concerning their advance and retreat, as well as contribute to historical record. Recognizing how glaciers change will improve glacier models, which leads to a better understanding of climate and ice-sheet interactions. Obtaining frequent images of glaciers can be difficult since they are often located in remote locations with rugged terrain and harsh weather conditions. Access can be arduous even during warm weather months. To overcome this obstacle, we propose building an autonomous imaging device that is powered by solar panels and can withstand the harsh weather. The imaging device will have the ability to capture images of the glacier at specified times, store them for uploading, and send them over a radio link to an Internet access point. Then they will be sent back to Penn State for analysis and display at the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum. The autonomous imaging system will contain a high-resolution digital camera, a low power Linux computer, used for the command and control of the camera, and a radio to communicate with the Internet access point. The system will be accommodated in an all-weather case designed specifically for this application. |
||||