X-SENSE: Sensing in Extreme Environments

is now in a stage where serious applications of societal and economical importance are in reach. For example, it is wellknown that the global climate change dramatically influences the visual appearance of mountain areas like the European Alps. Very destructive geological processes are triggered or...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jan Beutel, Bernhard Buchli, Federico Ferrari, Matthias Keller, Lothar Thiele, Marco Zimmerling
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Subjects:
Ice
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.188.2963
http://www.tik.ee.ethz.ch/%7Ebeutel/pub/BBFKTZ2011.pdf
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Summary:is now in a stage where serious applications of societal and economical importance are in reach. For example, it is wellknown that the global climate change dramatically influences the visual appearance of mountain areas like the European Alps. Very destructive geological processes are triggered or intensified, affecting the stability of slopes and possibly inducing landslides. Up to now, however, the interactions between these complex processes are poorly understood. To significantly advance the knowledge of these interactions, we advocate the use of wireless sensing technology as a new scientific instrument for environmental monitoring under extreme conditions. Large spatio-temporal variations in temperature and humidity, mechanical forces, snow and ice coverage, and unattended operation play a crucial role in long-term, high-altitude deployments. Despite these challenges, we argue that in order to reach the set out goals it is inevitable that WSNs be created as a high-quality scientific instrument with known and predictable properties, rather than as a research toy delivering average observations at best. In this paper, we present key techniques for achieving highly reliable, yet resource-efficient WSNs based on our longstanding experience with productive WSNs measuring permafrost processes in the Swiss Alps. I.