Aeromagnetic and aerial photographic survey in the South Shetland Islands,Antarctica, conducted by a small unmanned aerial vehicle (Ant-Plane)

Two small unmanned aerial vehicles, Ant-Plane 6 and Ant-Plane 3, were assembled using parts and technologies developed for model airplanes. The aerial vehicles were scheduled to conduct aero magnetic and photographic surveys of the Brans?eld Basin, from a takeoff runway at Marsh Air?eld on the South...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Minoru Funaki, Shin-Ichiro Higashino, Shinya Sakanaka, Naoyoshi Iwata, Norihiro Nakamura, Naohiko Hirasawa, Noriaki Obara, Mikio Kuwabara
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Japanese
Published: National Institute of Polar Research 2013
Subjects:
Geography (General)
G1-922
Antarctic
The Antarctic
South Shetland Islands
Deception Island
Livingston Island
South Bay
St. Kliment Ohridski Base
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.15094/00009695
https://doaj.org/article/08750f8904e34a5b8a56a0e329479be2
Description
Summary:Two small unmanned aerial vehicles, Ant-Plane 6 and Ant-Plane 3, were assembled using parts and technologies developed for model airplanes. The aerial vehicles were scheduled to conduct aero magnetic and photographic surveys of the Brans?eld Basin, from a takeoff runway at Marsh Air?eld on the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, during January 2011. However, the scheduled surveys were not conducted on account of poor weather. Research was later conducted on a glacier, using a takeoff runway at St. Kliment Ohridski Base, Livingston Island, during December 2011. A ?ight from St. Kliment Ohridski Base to Deception Island yielded satisfactory results; the total distance of 302.4 km was traversed in 3 h 7 min (3:07). On this ?ight, aeromagnetic and aerial photographic data were obtained from an altitude of 780 m for a 9×18 km area on the northern half of Deception Island. Aerial photographs of Deception Island and South Bay showed the distributions of glaciers and their crevasses. The Ant-Plane ?ew over the Antarctic horizon and surveyed above Deception Island. That was the successful venture of this kind, demonstrating that airborne surveys by Ant-Planes are useful for Antarctic research investigations. Airborne surveys provide a safe and economical approach to data acquisition as compared with manned aerial operations.

Similar Items