Fluctuations in glacier motion are very common and are thought to be controlled by subglacial hydrology and till deformation. There are few instrumented studies that have monitored seasonal changes. ...We use the innovative Glacsweb subglacial in situ wireless probes, combined with dGPS and custom geophone data from an Icelandic soft-bedded temperate glacier, to show that there are two distinct seasonal styles of speed-up events. Relatively small diurnal events occur during the melt season, whilst during winter there are larger multi-day events related to positive degree days. These events are accompanied by a distinct pattern of till deformation and basal icequakes. We argue these reflect stick-slip motion which occurs when the glacier hydrological system is unable to accommodate the melt water flux generated by surface melt episodes. We show a rare fully instrumented coupled glacier/till record of contrasting summer and winter stick-slip motion and discuss its implication for till sedimentology.
Abstract
Subglacial hydrology is a key element in glacier response to climate change, but investigations of this environment are logistically difficult. Most models are based on summer data from ...glaciers resting on rigid bedrocks. However a significant number of glaciers rest on soft (unconsolidated sedimentary) beds. Here we present a unique multi-year instrumented record of the development of seasonal subglacial behavior associated with an Icelandic temperate glacier resting on a deformable sediment layer. We observe a distinct annual pattern in the subglacial hydrology based on self-organizing anastomosing braided channels. Water is stored within the subglacial system itself (till, braided system and ‘ponds’), allowing the rapid access of water to enable glacier speed-up events to occur throughout the year, particularly in winter.
Environmental Sensor Networks (ESNs) facilitate the study of fundamental processes and the development of hazard response systems. They have evolved from passive logging systems that require manual ...downloading, into ‘intelligent’ sensor networks that comprise a network of automatic sensor nodes and communications systems which actively communicate their data to a Sensor Network Server (SNS) where these data can be integrated with other environmental datasets. The sensor nodes can be fixed or mobile and range in scale appropriate to the environment being sensed. ESNs range in scale and function and we have reviewed over 50 representative examples.
Large Scale Single Function Networks tend to use large single purpose nodes to cover a wide geographical area.
Localised Multifunction Sensor Networks typically monitor a small area in more detail, often with wireless ad-hoc systems.
Biosensor Networks use emerging biotechnologies to monitor environmental processes as well as developing proxies for immediate use. In the future, sensor networks will integrate these three elements (
Heterogeneous Sensor Networks). The communications system and data storage and integration (cyberinfrastructure) aspects of ESNs are discussed, along with current challenges which need to be addressed. We argue that Environmental Sensor Networks will become a standard research tool for future Earth System and Environmental Science. Not only do they provide a ‘virtual’ connection with the environment, they allow new field and conceptual approaches to the study of environmental processes to be developed. We suggest that although technological advances have facilitated these changes, it is vital that Earth Systems and Environmental Scientists utilise them.
Sensing devices are increasingly being deployed to monitor the physical world around us. One class of application for which sensor data is pertinent is environmental decision support systems, e.g., ...flood emergency response. For these applications, the sensor readings need to be put in context by integrating them with other sources of data about the surrounding environment. Traditional systems for predicting and detecting floods rely on methods that need significant human resources. In this paper we describe a semantic sensor web architecture for integrating multiple heterogeneous datasets, including live and historic sensor data, databases, and map layers. The architecture provides mechanisms for discovering datasets, defining integrated views over them, continuously receiving data in real-time, and visualising on screen and interacting with the data. Our approach makes extensive use of web service standards for querying and accessing data, and semantic technologies to discover and integrate datasets. We demonstrate the use of our semantic sensor web architecture in the context of a flood response planning web application that uses data from sensor networks monitoring the sea-state around the coast of England.
Polynomial Texture Mapping is an image capture and processing technique that was developed by HP Labs in 2000. It enables the recording and representation of subtle surface details using a standard ...digital camera and lighting, and software that is free for non-commercial use. Cultural heritage applications have been associated with the technology from its earliest stages, including examples in areas such as cuneiform, numismatics, rock art, lithics and Byzantine art. The paper begins by outlining the technical principles involved. It then brings together the extant work in the field. Through examples developed by the University of Southampton in partnership with a range of UK and international bodies it demonstrates the benefits of the technology in the areas of archaeological analysis, conservation and representation. Finally it considers the future possibilities of this technology and ongoing developments.
Sensing devices are increasingly being deployed to monitor the physical world around us. One class of application for which sensor data is pertinent is environmental decision support systems, e.g. ...flood emergency response. However, in order to interpret the readings from the sensors, the data needs to be put in context through correlation with other sensor readings, sensor data histories, and stored data, as well as juxtaposing with maps and forecast models. In this paper we use a flood emergency response planning application to identify requirements for a semantic sensor web. We propose a generic service architecture to satisfy the requirements that uses semantic annotations to support well-informed interactions between the services. We present the SemSor-Grid4Env realisation of the architecture and illustrate its capabilities in the context of the example application.
The data contained on the web and the social web are inherently multimedia and consist of a mixture of textual, visual and audio modalities. Community memories embodied on the web and social web ...contain a rich mixture of data from these modalities. In many ways, the web is the greatest resource ever created by human-kind. However, due to the dynamic and distributed nature of the web, its content changes, appears and disappears on a daily basis. Web archiving provides a way of capturing snapshots of (parts of) the web for preservation and future analysis. This paper provides an overview of techniques we have developed within the context of the EU funded ARCOMEM (ARchiving COmmunity MEMories) project to allow multimedia web content to be leveraged during the archival process and for post-archival analysis. Through a set of use cases, we explore several practical applications of multimedia analytics within the realm of web archiving, web archive analysis and multimedia data on the web in general.
The developments in wireless network technology and miniaturization makes it possible to realistically monitor the natural environment. Within the field of environmental sensor networks, domain ...knowledge is an essential fourth component. Before designing and installing any system, it is necessary to understand its physical environment and deployment in detail. Sensor networks are designed to transmit data from an array of sensors to a server data repository. They do not necessarily use a simple one way data stream over a communication network rather elements of the system decide what data to pass on, using local area summaries and filtering to minimize power use while maximizing the information content. The Envisense Glacs Web project is developing a monitoring system for a glacial environment. Monitoring the ice caps and glaciers provides valuable information about the global warming and climate change.
We have developed an innovative passive borehole geophone system, as part of a wireless environmental sensor network to investigate glacier stick-slip motion. The new geophone nodes use an ARM ...Cortex-M3 processor with a low power design capable of running on battery power while embedded in the ice. Only data from seismic events was stored, held temporarily on a micro-SD card until they were retrieved by systems on the glacier surface which are connected to the internet. The sampling rates, detection and filtering levels were determined from a field trial using a standard commercial passive seismic system. The new system was installed on the Skalafellsjökull glacier in Iceland and provided encouraging results. The results showed that there was a relationship between surface melt water production and seismic event (ice quakes), and these occurred on a pattern related to the glacier surface melt-water controlled velocity changes (stick-slip motion). Three types of seismic events were identified, which were interpreted to reflect a pattern of till deformation (Type A), basal sliding (Type B) and hydraulic transience (Type C) associated with stick-slip motion.
•A new internet connected, wireless, low power, event detection geophone system.•Low power use makes long term event monitoring feasible.•New system successfully detected basal ice quakes associated with surface melt.•Three types of seismic events identified associated with stick-slip motion.
Cameras have the potential to provide new data streams for environmental science. Improvements in image quality, power consumption and image processing algorithms mean that it is now possible to test ...camera-based sensing in real-world scenarios. This paper presents an 8-month trial of a camera to monitor discharge in a glacial river, in a situation where this would be difficult to achieve using methods requiring sensors in or close to the river, or human intervention during the measurement period. The results indicate diurnal changes in discharge throughout the year, the importance of subglacial winter water storage, and rapid switching from a “distributed” winter system to a “channelised” summer drainage system in May. They show that discharge changes can be measured with an accuracy that is useful for understanding the relationship between glacier dynamics and flow rates.
•We recorded river discharge in a remote area using a time-lapse camera.•The camera is inexpensive and installation and operation are simple.•Accurate edge-based image analysis leads to flow estimates.•An 8-month record of a glacial outflow river in a rocky bed provides a case study.•The measurements enable modelling of subglacial water storage and distribution.
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