Through this international planning visit Christopher Clark of California Polytechnic State University will initiate cooperative research with Geir Johnsen from the Trondheim Biological Station of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Clark?s experience with robotics complements his Norwegian partner?s expertise in Arctic marine biology. Together, they intend to employ new navigational control strategies for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to conduct sampling along the ice edge in the Arctic Ocean near Ny-Alesund Research Station in Svalbard, Norway. The goal is to sample and characterize bio-activity in the polar region. New information provided by robot plankton sensors during the planned exercises should help inform ecosystem models specific to the Arctic Ocean. Furthermore, tests conducted by this interdisciplinary team are expected to refine AUV ice-edge detection, position estimation and tracking capabilities.
This team visit to Svalbard fulfills the program objective of advancing basic knowledge of Arctic environments by enabling experts in the United States and Europe to share research resources and plan beneficial projects in areas of strong mutual interest and competence. Broader impacts include the training of two U.S. undergraduate students and one post doctoral participant through an early career introduction to collaborative polar field work and oceanographic sampling. The experience will provide these junior researchers with a valuable introduction to a unique Arctic site, international teamwork, and use of AUVs.
