Researchers study climate change in Antarctic with drone data

A main focus of the team’s work is snow. Because the Antarctic atmosphere is very dry and Antarctic snow typically doesn’t melt, the team is specifically measuring drift and sublimation — i.e., the loss of snow mass to the atmosphere by a direct transition from the solid (ice) to the gas phase (vapor). 

“We use the drone for photogrammetry and collect data to address questions at different time scales,” Huwald said. “On the short term, we are interested in the topography of the surface, which interacts with local winds and atmospheric turbulence and influences the turbulent heat fluxes. Over time, we’ll look at changes from year to year, i.e., whether there is a net accumulation or a net erosion in certain areas.”

Together with photogrammetry specialists from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos, Huwald’s team is now analyzing the WingtraOne data. Flying in -15C (5F) at the edge of the drone’s wind limits at times, and at an altitude of 2300 meters above sea level, his first impression of WingtraOne and its RX1R II PPK payloads is positive:

“Everything about the system is intuitive and works reliably,” he said. My experience was really good. It’s easy to handle. My expectation of the ease of using WingtraOne was certainly fulfilled. The pictures look good. We’ll see now how well we can derive the surface topography from the mostly low-contrast images; perhaps shadows can help us in this context.”