Biology
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufm.p22b0548a&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #P22B-0548
Biology
0315 Biosphere/Atmosphere Interactions, 1833 Hydroclimatology, 4840 Microbiology, 6207 Comparative Planetology
Scientific paper
A prototype cryobot will be used to provide an in-situ analysis of Longyearbreen glacier, in Svalbard. The cryobot is a small steerable robotic vehicle capable of melting through ice at a rate of ~20 m/day and carries a suite of instruments commonly used for ice core analysis. Terrestrial ice cores record climatological and geological history, such as changing atmospheric chemistry or volcanic eruptions. Unfortunately, coring or drilling in remote and harsh environmental conditions can be difficult and expensive. Furthermore, drilling and coring technologies are limited in penetration depth and commonly contaminate the sample with drilling fluids or surface debris. We present results from a cryobot designed to obtain geologic, climatologic, and biologic data while avoiding the problems of current methods; it can be installed in the ice with minimal effort, can be operated remotely, is relatively inexpensive, and is environmentally safe. The prototype will be used to record optical, pH, conductivity, redox, density, and temperature profiles of the Longyearbreen, glacier in Svalbard, Norway, which is 160 m deep, and located at 75N. These results will be compared with adjacent ice core measurements, for a direct comparison of the two technologies for obtaining science data. The ice core data will also be used to test the sensitivity and operating constraints a suite of instruments under development for use in the cryobot, including visible/near IR spectroscopy, UV fluorescence, and biomass identification. We have proposed the cryobot for use on a Scout class mission to Mars. The Svalbard melt test will serve as a simple Mars analog and a demonstration of the scientific return of the cryobot vehicle and instrument suite.
Anderson Fredrik
Carsey Frank D.
Conrad Pamela G.
Engelhardt Hermann
French Lloyd C.
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