Radar Drone Measures Ice Sheets To Predict Sea Level Rise

Understanding the processes that drive large ice sheets in places like Greenland and Antarctica is essential for forecasting the future of climate change and sea level rise. Enter Stanford engineer Thomas Teisberg and the Peregrine autonomous radar drone.

The Peregrine radar drone is equipped with ice-piercing radar, which can collect data miles under the surface.

“This is our tool for understanding what lies underneath the ice, which is one of the most critical inputs to understanding how this ice sheet is going to evolve in the future,” explains Teisberg.

Antennas are installed in the wings, and other equipment are likewise protected from the elements.

Radar drone lowers the cost

The Stanford team recently put the radar drone through its paces in Iceland. They claim that ice-piercing radar has been used for decades but that it is costly to install. They are now hopeful that the drone-based method will enable researchers from all across the globe to…