GPS equipment
I wanted to give everyone an idea of what type of equipment we would be using while in Antarctica. The pictures below are all of GPS equipment. GPS stands for Global Positioning System.
We use our GPS to give very accurate locations in latitude and longitude.
You may be familiar with GPS- many cars use the system now. However, our equipment is much more accurate that the GPS found in your car. This can be accurate to within 1-5 cm, while the GPS in your car is probably off by many meters.
While in Antarctica, our team will put out our GPS equipment on icebergs. They will track the motion of the iceberg, telling us how far they move each day. In fact, they will give us the precise location of the iceberg every two seconds!
It is important to have very accurate data so we can study how the ice tears apart and flows.
On the right of the photo is a yellow and orange tripod stand. On top of it is a white disk. The disk is our antenna. The antenna pulls information from satellites that are orbiting the earth. As long as there is a minimum of four satellites, we can know our exact location!
The antenna is hooked up to a receiver. The receiver is what stores all of our data until we fly back to our iceberg to retrieve it. It can be programmed using a computer.
The receiver and antenna are hooked up to a battery, which is charged with solar panels. On the left is a close-up of the receiver. It stores our data on a Compact Flash card, just like some cameras use.
That is our GPS equipment!
Now, I have a question out there for everyone. Please feel free to click on the “comment” button to try and answer it! Be sure to sign in with your name so I know who’s trying to answer the questions!
We need a minimum of four satellites to know our exact location on earth. Do you know why?
Hint: how many dimensions do you know?
We use our GPS to give very accurate locations in latitude and longitude.
You may be familiar with GPS- many cars use the system now. However, our equipment is much more accurate that the GPS found in your car. This can be accurate to within 1-5 cm, while the GPS in your car is probably off by many meters.
While in Antarctica, our team will put out our GPS equipment on icebergs. They will track the motion of the iceberg, telling us how far they move each day. In fact, they will give us the precise location of the iceberg every two seconds!
It is important to have very accurate data so we can study how the ice tears apart and flows.
On the right of the photo is a yellow and orange tripod stand. On top of it is a white disk. The disk is our antenna. The antenna pulls information from satellites that are orbiting the earth. As long as there is a minimum of four satellites, we can know our exact location!
The antenna is hooked up to a receiver. The receiver is what stores all of our data until we fly back to our iceberg to retrieve it. It can be programmed using a computer.
The receiver and antenna are hooked up to a battery, which is charged with solar panels. On the left is a close-up of the receiver. It stores our data on a Compact Flash card, just like some cameras use.
That is our GPS equipment!
Now, I have a question out there for everyone. Please feel free to click on the “comment” button to try and answer it! Be sure to sign in with your name so I know who’s trying to answer the questions!
We need a minimum of four satellites to know our exact location on earth. Do you know why?
Hint: how many dimensions do you know?
posted by Emily at 2:25 PM
5 Comments:
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In response to palmer 5: No, our equipment does not work with less than four. It will sit and wait until it has made contact with at least four before it starts logging data. There are a lot of satellites up there, (six orbital planes with 4 each, so a total of 24 satellites). So, you figure you should be able to lock in just fine. As one moves out of view, others will replace it.
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