Researchers at Casey Station Use ‘OktoKopter’ to Map Moss Beds
30.09.2010 - Logistics, Antarctic
The German-built, Australian-customized remote controlled ‘OktoKopter’ will be used to map fragile coastal moss beds at Casey Station in Antarctica during the coming season. The high-tech machine, a 1:20 scale model of an actual helicopter, will use remote sensing techniques to monitor the impact of changes in temperature, wind speed and UV-B radiation on moss beds.
Carried on-board the ‘OktoKopter’ are visible colour, near-infrared and thermal-infrared cameras as well as an autopilot system to follow a pre-determined GPS route. With them, scientists will be able to produce an accurate digital elevation model of the terrain and collect ultra-high resolution imagery. As previous collaborative research found a distinct die-back of the moss beds, the ‘OktoKopter’ will help the team at Casey Station determine in which places the moss is healthy or dying off.
Moss is an important indicator of climate change, as it keeps a climate record along its shoots as it grows. In accurately dating the mosses and mapping their extent, the scientists believe that they will be able to derive what has happened to the climate in the past and predict any future changes.
After the stability and accuracy issues encountered with a standard remote-controlled model, scientists at Casey Station switched to the ‘OktoKopter’ system last year as their weapon of choice for remote sensing research. With the moss mapping campaign in February this year, the ‘OktoKopter’ will embark on its second year of Antarctic research.
