Abstract
Aerial unmanned vehicles, so-called drones, present a paradigm shift away from the long-term use by scientists of manned aeroplanes and helicopters. This is evident from the number of research articles that focus on data obtained with drones. This article examines the use of aerial drones for scientific research in cryospheric regions, especially Antarctica and the Arctic. Specifically, it aims to provide insights into the choices and performance of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) use for drones, including augmentation systems. Data on drone GNSS navigation and positioning in the context of scientific polar research have been scarce. Drone survey data obtained from polar scientists in April 2019 is the first representative sample from this close-knit global community across the specialisms of climatology, ecology, geology, geomorphology, geophysics and oceanography. The survey results derived from 16 countries revealed that 14.71% of scientists used GALILEO, 27.94% used GLONASS and 45.59% used GPS. Many used a combination of two or more GNSS. Multiple regression analysis showed that there is no strong relationship between a specific pattern of GNSS augmentation and greater positioning accuracy. Further polar drone studies should assess the effects of phase scintillation on all GNSS, therefore BEIDOU, GALILEO, GLONASS and GPS.
Highlights
Unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles are already a crucial instrument of scientific research
Another aspect that points to increasing reliance on a trio of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) at high latitudes was the significant use of GALILEO (14.71%)
Subsequent to the drone survey completed in April 2019, on 7 May 2019, an email was sent to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to understand if there was any reason known to JPL for this increased interest among polar users for global differential GPS (GDGPS)
Summary
Unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles (singularly and collectively ‘drones’) are already a crucial instrument of scientific research. This is evident from the rapid increase in the number of articles that focus on research data obtained with drones. A whole edition of the International Journal of Remote Sensing, comprising of 65 articles, has focused solely on aerial drone research. Drones are increasingly assisting research at high latitudes [2], and in all cryospheric regions [3]. A common denominator of drone navigation is to understand how each GNSS operates
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