In 2009, NSF awarded CReSIS a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant to fund the construction of an electromagnetic anechoic chamber. The chamber's primary purpose is to support the research and development of remote sensing technologies at CReSIS and the University of Kansas. Find out more at this website.
Credit: Stephen Yan
The Aerospace Engineering department at the University of Kansas completed the first Meridian-class uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) for Arctic exploration as a part of a CReSIS grant in 2008. Find out more at this website.
Credit: Rick Hale
CReSIS graduate students at the University of Kansas work closely with faculty members to build and test a suite of radars used to sound and image the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. Find out more about CReSIS-developed radars at this website.
Credit: Jennifer Laverentz
Scientific research and the operational support of that research are the principal activities supported by the United States government in Antarctica. The goals are to expand fundamental knowledge of the region, to foster research on global and regional problems of current scientific importance, and to use the region as a platform from which to support research. For projects involving fieldwork, the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) supports only that research that can be done exclusively in Antarctica or that can be done best from Antarctica. NSF funds and manages the USAP. The Antarctic Sciences Section (ANT) is one of two science sections in NSF's Division of Polar Programs.
The CReSIS REU program provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to conduct research on topics of global significance. Students work closely with faculty advisors and other student researchers at Elizabeth City State University, the University of Kansas, Indiana University, the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Washington.
From September 9 to 13, 2013, CReSIS will host the International Symposium on Radioglaciology in conjunction with the International Glaciological Society at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kans. The symposium will take a comprehensive look at the latest technological innovations in radars and signal processing techniques for investigating ice sheets, glaciers and their geophysical settings, with emphasis on polar and other logistically challenging settings.
CReSIS partner Indiana University (IU) is home to Polar Grid, a NSF-funded partnership between IU and Elizabeth City State University to acquire and deploy the computing infrastructure needed to investigate the urgent problems in glacial melting. Polar Grid cyberinfrastructure consists of ruggedized laptops and clusters deployed in the field in the polar regions, and two large-scale clusters for detailed data analysis in the U.S.
The CReSIS Education Team works to integrate polar science related to glaciers, remote sensing, polar ecosystems and climate change data into science, math and technology curricula through online activities and information, face-to-face presentations and workshops. Glaciers in Motion, an interactive web-based Flash program designed to provide user-friendly information on how glaciers move and change, was recently developed by an Education Team graduate student and made available to the public via the CReSIS website.
February 25, 2013
The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) Investigates Melting Polar Ice
From the ground, air and space, CReSIS researchers study disappearing ice and the potential for sea level rise
The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) is a Science and Technology Center (STC) established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2005 with the mission of developing new technologies and computer models to measure and predict the response of sea level change to the mass balance of the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. NSF's STC program combines the efforts of scientists and engineers to respond to problems of global significance, supporting the intense, sustained, collaborative work required to achieve progress. CReSIS provides students and faculty with opportunities to pursue exciting research in a variety of disciplines; to collaborate with world-class scientists and engineers in the U.S. and abroad; and to make meaningful contributions to the ongoing, urgent work of addressing the impact of climate change.
"The faculty, students and staff have developed sensors, Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles and advanced concepts to obtain much needed data on the ice-bed interface at the ice-sheet margins and fast-flowing glaciers. The technical and scientific skills represented here are among the best in the world."
~ Prasad Gogineni, CReSIS Director and Deane E. Ackers Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Kansas
"There is a story behind why we need this data and how it is being used--there are specific problems we are trying to collectively solve."
~ John Paden, CReSIS Associate Research Professor
"It is apparent there is an issue with climate change, especially in fast changing areas like polar regions. These changes need to be modeled with accuracy in order for us to understand and fully address them. The models required to represent the ice sheets need to be able to resolve individual features in a five kilometer scale or less to achieve a sufficient level of accuracy. To get that degree of coverage you need our high quality data--the models can only be as accurate as the data we provide. The data can only be as precise as the radar and instruments permit."
~ Fernando Rodriguez-Morales, CReSIS Assistant Research Professor
"Not many undergraduate or even graduate students get to have this experience--CReSIS is one of the only research institutions in general that sends students into the field. This real-world experience is invaluable. You work side-by-side with professional engineers and scientists who are leading climate change research and get to establish all kinds of connections."
~ Anthony Hoch, CReSIS Graduate Research Assistant
"A critical Polar Programs' goal is helping to prepare the next generation of polar researchers and, at the same time, helping to insure that the next generation is as representative of the diversity of the U.S. public as possible. CReSIS' educational outreach is aimed squarely at achieving those goals."
~ Julie Palais, a glaciologist and program manager in the Division of Polar Programs, noting that CReSIS not only exemplifies NSF's emphasis on support for cutting-edge science and technology across the disciplines, but also is a leader in meeting the foundation's aim of better integrating research and education
Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations presented in this material are only those of the presenter grantee/researcher, author, or agency employee; and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
