Technology pioneered in Antarctica could soon be providing much-needed data on the amount of ice in the glaciers of High Mountain Asia thanks to an ingenious helicopter-mounted, low-frequency radar developed by researchers at British Antarctic Survey.
After successfully testing the new equipment at the UK Arctic Research Station at Ny-Ålesund this spring, a team from BAS hopes to be heading to the Indian Himalayas in Spring 2019.
Leading the team is BAS glaciologist Dr Hamish Pritchard, whose work focuses on the two great glaciology issues of a warming world: rising sea level due to melting ice sheets, and the future of mountain glaciers as a water resource.
Measuring the volume of ice in High Mountain Asia glaciers is important because countries in the region have large, growing populations and highly water-dependent economies. For many communities, ice melt from glaciers provides a lifeline of water in summer, particularly during in droughts when the rains fail.
Read more at British Antarctic Survey
Image: Preparing the radar for testing beneath the helicopter at the UK Ny-Alesund research station. (Credit: Dave Goodger)