More Than a Snail's Pace: Monitoring Glacial Melt

We are seeking additional funding to continue the fabrication, deployment, and maintenance of our proprietary glacier health monitoring sensors: the Glacier Ablation Sensor System (GASS). GASS was initially deployed by scientists at the Michigan Tech Research Institute, the United States Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Land Management to record horizontal and vertical melt of glaciers, as well as meteorological data—including temperature, wind speed, humidity, barometric pressure, and upward- and downward-looking light intensity. GASS employs a rechargeable battery and solar panel to provide at least four-and-a-half months of power, and a microprocessor to manage the power, data collection, and storage. With additional funding, we would like to improve the system's battery and data collection capabilities, and install more sensors to increase the number of sample points. Due to the glacier's remote location, this process is extremely costly, requiring helicopter flights to a base camp and then to various sensor sites. Periodic inspections and repairs of the equipment pose the same transportation and accessibility issues. Even with the study's faraway location, further resources will result in a local impact by helping to shape environmental regulations and promoting overall aquatic health.