PAL LTER 2026

MWMS_LTER

This project will build a new instrument to measure meltwater from glaciers in the ocean. The causes and impacts of melting glaciers are a challenge to observe and predict, because they unfold in complex and hard to reach places: beneath miles of ice, under floating ice shelves, and during the coldest times of the year. The objective of this instrument is to increase oceanographer's capacity to measure and map glacier melt in the ocean by 300-400%, while reducing costs and providing near real-time results. This increase in measurement capacity will permit comparison of regional and seasonal changes in the glacier melt from the ice-covered land masses of Antarctica and Greenland. The instrument will be field validated in Rhode Island coastal waters, and then it will be used to measure glacier melt near the US Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The partnership between the University of Rhode Island and SRI international presents an important public-private partnership that will encourage the use of private-sector technology for open access research, and recruit the future workforce in environmental sensing technology by employing undergraduate ocean engineers and supporting a graduate student.