Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area
Tags: engineering, water monitoring, river ice, freshwater ice, RADARSAT Constellation Mission
| Principal Investigator: | van der Sanden, Joost J. (2) |
| Licence Number: | 17218 |
| Organization: | Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) / Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2023
|
| Issued: | Feb 23, 2023 |
| Project Team: | Hugo Drouin, Paul Wilson |
Objective(s): To collect field data for use in the development of methods that will enable the application of images from Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) to the mapping and monitoring of river and lake ice properties and processes.
Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No.5480. This project aims to collect field data for use in the development of methods that will enable the application of images from Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) to the mapping and monitoring of river and lake ice properties and processes. The research team expect the fieldwork to take place on approximately six days over a period of two weeks in the period from March 1st to March 31st, 2023. This work was originally planned for March 2022 but cancelled because of the Omicron pandemic. A helicopter will be the main means of accessing the sampling locations. A rental truck will be used as a backup, to the extent possible, if persistent poor weather prevents flying. The team will use RCM images that will be acquired in January and February 2023 to pre-select sampling locations of interest. The systematic acquisition of RCM images started in October 2022. In combination, the sampling locations will represent the dominant lake and river ice conditions in the area. At each location, the team will auger the ice to determine its ‘groundedness’ and thickness as well as extract an ice core for further analysis in an improvised cold laboratory at the Aurora Institute (Inuvik). Analysis of the core will focus on a description of layering in terms of ice types (i.e. thermal ice, snow ice, frazil ice). The research team also plan to deploy a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system, through hand-towing or helicopter overflight, to collect ice cover thickness measurements along transects. In addition to ice cover data, the team will collect data on snow cover characteristics such as thickness, layering and wetness. The typical fieldwork methods are featured in a YouTube video found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3-usSNyEG0 The project team is considering to host an online meeting for interested stakeholders. The purpose of this meeting will be: 1) to explain the use of radar satellites for the characterization of lake/river ice cover; 2) to outline the fieldwork proposed in this project; and,3) to address questions from stakeholders. This meeting is scheduled, tentatively, for the week from Jan 30 to Feb 3, 2023. Stakeholders are invited to express their interest to attend by emailing the PI (joost.vandersanden@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca). The team also plans to contribute to communication events that may be organized by Natural Resources Canada in connection with the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility (ISSF) (https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/science-and-data/research-centres-and-labs/satellite-receiving-stations/satellite-facilities/inuvik-satellite-station-facility/10953). A series of videos showcasing the overall nature of the team’s research and development work is available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joost+van+der+sanden+ice+radar). Project results will be published in journals subscribed to by most libraries. Also, the team expects to share results by presenting at symposia, including the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from March 1, 2023 to March 31, 2023.
