Polar Technology Conferencepolar.sri.com/polarpower.org/PTC/PTC_2013_Meeting_Report.pdf · 2013...

Meeting Report from the 9th annual

Polar Technology Conference

April 2-4, 2013 United States Naval Academy

Annapolis, Maryland

2013 Polar Technology Conference Meeting Report

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Table of Contents 1. Overview Page 3

2. Presentations and Activities Page 5

3. Future Conference Venues Page 12

4. Actions from PTC 2012 Recommendations Page 13

5. Steering Committee Page 14

Alumni Hall on the USNA campus in Annapolis, MD, where the 2013 PTC was held.


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1. Overview The primary purpose of the Polar Technology Conference (PTC) is to bring together polar scientists, engineers, and technology developers, to exchange knowledge regarding design, implementation, and deployment of systems which will operate successfully in polar environments and to assist researchers in achieving their project

goals. The PTC is unique in that it does not focus on the scientific results of particular projects or data sets. Instead, the conference asks how was a project executed and how was the data collected? The PTC offers the opportunity to compare notes, lessons learned, new product innovations, technical solutions, and projects of interest across a wide range of disciplines. The presentations and discussions range from individual instruments and communications devices to facility-scale operations and logistical concerns. The unified theme is to discuss what did or did not work and what potential technological advantages are under development. Bringing polar technology developers together in this way confers benefits beyond the immediate conference setting. The content is beneficial to individuals new to polar research, as well as seasoned veterans. New connections are made that extend long after the conference has ended. The role of the PTC and its Internet analog, PolarPower.org1

, is to pass on information, share lessons learned with colleagues, reduce the amount of “reinventing the wheel” among technical developers, and increase the chances for success in fielding research projects in environmentally challenging, high latitude locations. The conference is thoroughly bi-polar, encompassing not only the US National Science Foundation’s Arctic and Antarctic programs, but the polar programs of many nations. The conference is open to all and, typically, has several international participants attending each year. The early years of the conference were focused on small autonomous power and communications systems. In 2012, a third day was added to enable the sharing of information on larger scale infrastructure and logistics projects. The conference continued as a three day event in 2013 and this format is expected to continue to fully encompass the world of polar technology. Since the challenges of polar research span the Arctic and Antarctic, conference organizers have sought to find a time of the year conducive to participants active in both spheres of operation. The early- April time frame seems to work reasonably well. The initial conferences were hosted in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since its 5th year (2009), hosts have been sought from around the country to bring the conference to a larger

1 http://PolarPower.org or http://PolarTechnology.org


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audience, including students, that might not have the resources to travel to distant venues. 2013 marked the 9th year of the PTC and the second time it has taken place on the East Coast of the United States. Each year the event is hosted by a different entity and that responsibility was ably performed by the United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapolis, Maryland, in 2013. Special thanks to LCDR John Woods of the USNA Oceanography Department, Polar Science Program2. He did a superb job of planning and coordination so that the conference events progressed smoothly.

Rear Admiral Jonathan White kicked off the PTC with an interesting presentation that underscored the importance of conference’s topics. The U.S. Navy has a long history and presence in the polar regions and a dramatically increasing interest in the fast thawing Arctic.

Despite the impact of sequestration that came into effect just before the 2013 conference, more than 70 scientists, engineers, technology developers, educators, and students converged at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland, to share their experiences with their colleagues. The conference was a great success and many folks new to the conference were in attendance as well as people who have been coming to the conference for years. In attendance were five from

2 http://usna.edu/PolarScienceProgram/


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Canada and one each from Chile, Poland, and the Netherlands. Six students were formally registered for the duration of the conference. Several USNA classes and their instructors attended RADM Jonathan White’s presentation and other presentation sessions pertinent to class subject matter. 2. Presentations and Activities Presentations given at the 2013 PTC encompassed a wide spectrum of technical topics, in support of numerous scientific and logistical projects. All presentations are available on-line at PolarTechnologyConference.org, including those from previous years. The presentations were videotaped for the first time this year and will be accessible through a link on the PTC Home Page. This year’s presentations included:

Name Affiliation Topic

Tuesday, 2 April 2013 – Buoys, UAVs, & Small, Autonomous Systems

RADM Jonathan White Invited Speaker

U.S. Navy Director, Space and Maritime Domain Awareness

Challenges from a Changing Arctic

CDR Bob Bruninga (Ret) LCDR John Woods

U.S. Naval Academy Polar Science Program - Aerospace Engineering Capstone

Peter Legnos Matthew Jewell

LBI Corp Airborne Expendable Ice Buoy (AXIB) for Polar Ice Zone Deployment

Louis Whitcomb Johns Hopkins University Development of Nereid-UI: A Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle for Oceanographic Access Under Ice

Eric Berg University of California Irvine

Solar and Wind Power System for the ARIANNA Array

Tracy Dahl James Jarvis

Polar Field Services APRS World

Wind Turbine Testing

Steve Howe Center for Space Nuclear Research

Compact, Low Specific-Mass Electrical Power Supply for Hostile Environments

Paul Carpenter IRIS/PASSCAL Advances in Remote Seismic Station Technology

Satish Chetty Beyond 66 Buoy based multi-sensor, high resolution camera system

Lars Kalnajs University of Colorado at Boulder

An Autonomous Chemical Measurement Network in the Ross Island Region of Antarctica – The First Year of Operation

Andres Cardenas-Valencia SRI International Development of Technology and Associated Platforms for In-situ Sensing of Physicochemical


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and Biological Parameters in Extreme Environments

Wednesday, 3 April 2013 – Small, Autonomous Systems & Communications

Dr. Marco Tedesco Invited Speaker

National Science Foundation Division of Polar Programs

The Polar Cyberinfrastructure Program

Richard Knepper Indiana University Forward Observer In-Flight Dual Copy System

Tim Spuck Oil City High School The Benefits of an Embedded Educator on your Polar Research Team

CDR Bob Bruninga (Ret) US Naval Academy PSAT Remote Data Transponder

Todd Valentic SRI International The Data Transport Network Turns 15!

Daniel Wagster Antarctic Support Contract NSF Sponsored DoD Iridium Services

Roy Stehle SRI International Iridium 9575 Extreme and Delorme inReach as GPS Trackers

Sridhar Anandakrishnan Penn State University Wireless Network of GPS and Seismic Sensors: geoPebble

Robert Melville Gilber Jeffer

New Jersey Institute of Technology

A New Telemetry Module Based on Iridium SBD

Andrew Stillinger New Jersey Institute of Technology

Automatic Geophysical Observatories - Power System Update

Robert Busby Allan Sauter

IRIS/EarthScope IRIS/PASSCAL

EarthScope’s Transportable Array

Thursday, 4 April 2013 – Research Stations and Ice Traverses

Terry Benson University of Wisconsin – Madison

Innovations in Hot Water Drilling at the South Pole

Jason Weale ERDC - CRREL Beyond Limits – Advancing Material Test Procedures and Predict Performance in Polar Regions

Russ Alger Michigan Tech University Processed Snow Roads, Runways, and Whatever

Cyrena Briede Mount Washington Observatory

Product Testing and Research Capabilities with Mount Washington Observatory

Kenneth Ratzlaff The University of Kansas Kilowatt-Range Turbine Implementation at the South Pole

Paul Moran Polar Geospatial Center The use of submeter imagery to see what you didn't think you could see and to go where you didn't think you could go…

Jay Burnside Jennifer Mercer

Polar Field Services NSF/ALEX

Evolution of a Station - Executing the Long Range Plan

James Lever Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Over-Snow Rovers for Polar Science Campaigns


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Tracy Dahl Polar Field Services Polar Solar - Considerations and Recent Deployment Examples

Tracy Dahl Polar Field Services The SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge

Posters Frank Heid SFC Energy Methanol Fuel Cell Deployments

Mark Ivey Sandia National Labs DOE ARM Climate Research Facilities on the North Slope of Alaska: Barrow, Oliktok, Atqasuk, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Tethered Balloons, and Field Campaigns

James Jarvis APRS World Micro Wind Turbine Extreme Weather Design Considerations

Olivia Rempel Carbon Neutral Antarctica Renewable Energy in Antarctica: A Review of the Current and Proposed Systems

Kiya Riverman Penn State Universlity Innovations in Polar Seismic Data Acquisition

Marcin Ruszcak Polish Academy of Sciences

Energy resources and waste management at the Polish Polar Station in Svalbard

Todd Valentic SRI International A Robust Command, Communications and Data Acquisition System For Autonomous Sensor Platforms Using The Data Transport Network

General Attendees

James Anderson NORAD-NORTHCOM

Jas Basi Ensol Systems

Patrick Bastien

Doug Bloomquist IRIS/PASSCAL

Joseph Brenner US Navy

Dagmara Broniatowska' US Naval Academy

Dean Childs PASSCAL

Jay Clausen US Army ERDC/CRREL

Louis-Philippe Dury Carbon Neutral Antarctica

Michael DuVernois University of Wisconsin

Brent Evers IRIS

Clinton Flint MetOcean Data Systems

James Gridley IRIS/PASSCAL

Alexander Hayman Genasun

Jason Hebert IRIS/PASSCAL

Gina Henderson US Naval Academy


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Paul Hill JouBeh Technologies

Ngoc Hoang NAL Research

Katy Jensen Antarctic Support Contract

Sarah Kaye US Coast Guard

Allan Klinge Klinge Corp.

Natalie Laudier ONR Global

Richard Machida University of Alaska Fairbanks

Kate Nixon Oceanographer of the Navy

Tim Parker IRIS/PASSCAL

Darren Penney Xeos Technolgies Inc.

Tom Reese LASP

Dan Rhodes US Naval Academy

Rolf Sinclair Centro de Estudios Cientificos

William Spindler

Roald Van der Heide NIOZ

Angie Walker USN Task Force Climate Change

Mike Willis Cornell

Some of the highlights from this diverse set of presentations were:

The opening presentation given by RADM Jonathan White gave a broad overview of the extensive involvement of the U.S. Navy to ensure a safe, stable, and secure Arctic region. The decrease in ice extent and volume has raised interest in Arctic shipping, oil and gas extraction, commercial fishing, and Arctic tourism. A sampling of Arctic research programs from the Office of Naval Research demonstrated the broad range of activities on land, sea, and in the air in response to recently reviewed and revised objectives for the region. Presentations by USNA midshipmen highlighted some of the educational projects that had benefitted from these students’ interaction with polar researchers and engineers.


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Dr. Marco Tedesco’s opening presentation on the second day of the conference explained the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) new Polar Cyberinfrastructure Program to which he had recently been appointed as Program Director. The polar regions have been generally bereft of adequate means of communications. New research efforts need the means to collect significantly more data and to be able to quickly and efficiently retrieve and exchange that data to many researchers and organizations.

One of the other presentations in this theme described large capacity, high speed, solid state disk arrays for data collection on airborne synthetic aperture radar systems. A review of the 15-year evolution of a reliable Data Transport Network described its deployment in a range of systems from small, autonomous buoys to large scale incoherent scatter radars. Iridium was a topic of several presentations and was one of the communications means for EarthScope’s Transportable Array. A terrestrial WLAN found utility in geoPebbles’ networks on glaciers.

Dr. Marco Tedesco, Director of the NSF’s Polar Cyberinfrastructure Program, started the day off on Wednesday with his vision of a 21st century data and communications network for the United States Polar Program.

Power systems continue to be a major topic of discussion in both small and

facility size installations. The evolution of wind turbine design for polar environments and high wind velocity survival was one topic that included test videos and design modifications to improve reliability. The design and testing of a


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kilowatt-range wind and solar system for the Askaryan Radio Array at the South Pole was reported with wind turbine efficiency data reports and tower designs. A tower of solar arrays deployed at Summit Station, Greenland, demonstrated the ability to field a low cost, rugged renewable energy system on an ice cap without the use of heavy construction system. In less than a year of operation, it has provided more than 1.4 MWh of energy offsetting at least 150 gallons of diesel fuel with a carbon offset of 1,000 kg of CO2. One topic of interest to many was the research being conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory on radioisotope power sources. These have been deployed on space craft and would offer long term, small power systems for autonomous systems. At 3-year project is underway to develop a demonstration prototype for terrestrial use.

Several presentations reported on ocean and lake observation and data collection systems. An aircraft-deployable, expendable ice buoy demonstrated an approach to lower cost, yet survivable, construction to polar data collection and reporting that wasn’t dependent on ice breakers for deployment. The past approaches to underwater vehicles provided excellent background to the design development behind the Neried-UI remotely controlled underwater vehicle. The range of problems to research under sea ice and glaciers highlighted many areas where further research is required to yield systems that are more agile, reliable, and easily deployed.

Research stations and ice traverses were the main topic of the final day of the

conference. The problems of long term maintenance of and support for stations deployed on ice caps and/or subject to significant snow accumulation and drifting were presented through a historic review of operations at Summit Station in Greenland. The description of problems of road and runway construction and maintenance, together with the results achieved from new equipment and techniques tested in Antarctica, gave important insight into these problems and triggered discussions on approaches for the future. Methods employed at the US Army’s CRREL for stress testing were described with case studies of materials for polar shelter and traverse sleds. Lessons learned during the evolution of new materials for these applications led to improvements in structure lifetime and in towing efficiencies. The facilities for product testing in a polar environment were described for the more easily accessed Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire.

Tim Spuck, a science teacher at the Oil City High School (Pennsylvania), draw on his experience as a PolarTREC teacher on NASA’s Operation IceBridge to


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relate to researchers the value of having an experienced educator as a part of a research team. Educational outreach to the general public and, particularly, the present generation of young students is important for relating the importance of the research being conducted and securing more backing for future research efforts.

In addition to the formal oral presentations, posters were also available for viewing during breaks and an official poster session, spurring many constructive conversations between attendees.

An informal arrangement of tables was provided in the conference room where researchers and manufacturers were able to display project equipment or commercial products. This conference incorporated several informal activities in addition to the formal presentations.

A private tour of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum was arranged for two hours after the first day of the conference. The Museum Curator gave a guided tour of the exhibits, with special attention given to displays presenting polar history. Unique polar artifacts and documents were put on special display and their special significance was described. This very interesting tour was well attended.

A showing of the film “Chasing Ice” by James Balog was presented on the first evening of the conference at the beautiful Mahan Hall on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy. Spouses and Naval personnel were invited to attend. This event was well attended and well received.

After the second day of the conference, an informal no-host gathering was arranged in a private room at a local restaurant and attended by approximately 50 persons. This was intended as an opportunity for people to get together to continue discussions initiated at the conference. The conference paid for


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appetizers; attendees could purchase dinner from the restaurant. A second showing of the “Chasing Ice” film was provided in a side room at the restaurant for people who were unable to attend the first showing.

A special "polar emphasis" tour of the USNA Museum was held Tuesday evening. The

Curator's knowledge was as comprehensive as his enthusiasm was contagious.

3. Future Conference Venues For the second year in a row, the PTC was held on the East Coast. The conference drew some new attendees and presentation topics. To promote wide appeal and technical vitality among the polar scientific and technical community, the conference should return to a goal of geographic diversity. A few potential venues for the 2014 PTC have been offered. The location and dates for the upcoming PTC location should be finalized as early as possible to accommodate extremely busy schedules of those involved in polar research. The first week of April continues to appear to be a good target, as it is before many teams head for the Arctic and it is after teams have returned from Antarctica. The chosen week needs to avoid the European Geosciences Union General Assembly, held in Vienna, Austria, which attracts many of the same people interested in the PTC. A


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three day conference, from Tuesday through Thursday, seems to be a good fit for most travelers. 4. Actions from 2012 PTC Recommendations The Meeting Report from the 2012 PTC3 set forth a number of tenents and goals for future conferences and related activities. These guiding principles and recommendations were followed in organizing and conducting the 2013 conference. Any shortfall might be attributed to a limited resource of volunteer participation. A few highlights of the major events and accomplishments follow: By the Fall AGU Meeting in December 2012, the host and venue (USNA) for the 2013 PTC had been chosen, but a final approval from upper Government sources was still required and was obtained shortly thereafter. Announcements of the 2013 PTC were distributed to an extended electronic mail address list. Distribution of the announcement was also published in newsgroups hosted by CRYOLIST, ArticInfo, and ANSWER. Conference information was posted on the PTC website as soon as we had received the final approvals had been received from the USNA As requested from the 2012 conference, a deadline for abstract submission of three weeks before the conference was established (1 month had been a goal). A small number of abstracts were received at that deadline, potentially due to the confusion over travel restrictions caused by sequestration. The deadline was extended another 10 days. Requests to submit abstracts were still being received a week before the conference. The new PTC Website implementation can be easily reused for future PTC announcements and registrations. The most difficult task for past conferences has been the functionality to collect registration information and fees and to accept abstracts. The ability to easily indicate submitted abstracts, registrants, and agenda was also implemented. These implementations will greatly simplify the revision of the Home Page and supporting pages for future conferences. Just getting the new website implemented was a big enough task this year. The integration of the PolarTechnology.org website content into an overall website will be undertaken in the future.

3 http://polarpower.org/PTC/PTC_2012_Meeting_Report.pdf


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5. Steering Committee The Steering Committee for the PTC appreciates all suggestions and feedback. The address of [email protected] may be used to send e-mail to the entire committee. Paul Carpenter IRIS/PASSCAL [email protected] Satish Chetty Beyond 66 [email protected] Tracy Dahl Polar Field Services [email protected] Jennifer Mercer (ex officio)

NSF / ALEX [email protected]

Joe Pettit UNAVCO [email protected] Roy Stehle SRI International [email protected] LCDR John Woods U.S. Naval Academy [email protected]

Polar Technology Conferencepolar.sri.com/polarpower.org/PTC/PTC_2013_Meeting_Report.pdf · 2013...

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