Abstract. Measuring the ice flow motion accurately is essential to better understand the time evolution of glaciers and ice sheets and therefore to better anticipate the future consequence of climate change in terms of sea level rise. Although there are a variety of remote sensing methods to fill this task, in situ measurements are always needed for validation or to capture high-temporal-resolution movements. Yet glaciers are in general hostile environments where the installation of instruments might be tedious and risky when not impossible. Here we report the first-ever in situ measurements of ice flow motion using a remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We used a quadcopter UAV to land on a highly crevassed area of Eqip Sermia Glacier, West Greenland, to measure the displacement of the glacial surface with the aid of an onboard differential GNSS receiver. We measured approximately 70 cm of displacement over 4.36 h without setting foot onto the glacier – a result validated by applying UAV photogrammetry and template matching techniques. Our study demonstrates that UAVs are promising instruments for in situ monitoring and have great potential for capturing continuous ice flow variations in inaccessible glaciers – a task that remote sensing techniques can hardly achieve.

Abstract. As spacecraft missions return ever more data from Mars, additional tools will be required to explore and analyse these datasets efficiently. To streamline research into the atmosphere of Mars, a user-orientated modelling capability is developed that enables automatic initialisation and running of a column model. As a demonstration we utilise the modelling framework to provide additional verification for the University of Helsinki and Finnish Meteorological Institute Mars column model temperature profiles above the height of typical lander meteorological measurements, i.e. above 2 m. We utilise the framework at landing site locations that are well characterised to understand the model's applicability and to identify future opportunities for modifications to the framework. We do this by using the framework to compare the column model to temperature soundings made by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. We find that the column model, without any modification, is able to reproduce the observed lapse rates and average temperatures closely in most cases except for a 20–60 K increase over the northern hemisphere mid-winter. We can reproduce this discrepancy by incorporating an adiabatic heating term into the column model. Fitting of the modified column model to the observations results in estimated maximum downward vertical wind velocities of ∼ 10 cm s−1 at altitudes of 15–20 km over the winter solstice at the VL-1 and VL-2 sites. The approach developed here may possibly provide a way to independently estimate or observe the vertical motion in the Martian atmosphere. However, even though the magnitude of the vertical wind speed appears reasonable, it is not clear at this point how much the atmospheric heating is due to other mechanisms such as advection. We have introduced new application software that can quickly find and display the requested data and can be immediately analysed using the included tools. We have demonstrated the potential of this type of software application with a glimpse into the upper atmosphere of Mars.

Abstract. A fibre-optic DTS (distributed temperature sensing) system using Raman-scattering optical time domain reflectometry was deployed to monitor a boreal forest research site in the interior of Alaska. Surface temperatures range between −40 ∘C in winter and 30 ∘C in summer at this site. In parallel experiments, a fibre-optic cable sensor system (multi-mode, GI50/125, dual core; 3.4 mm), monitored at high resolution, (0.5 m intervals at every 30 min) ground surface temperatures across the landscape. In addition, a high-resolution vertical profile was acquired at one-metre height above the upper subsurface. The total cable ran 2.7 km with about 2.0 km monitoring a horizontal surface path. Sections of the cable sensor were deployed in vertical coil configurations (1.2 m high) to measure temperature profiles from the ground up at 5 mm intervals. Measurements were made continuously over a 2-year interval from October 2012 to October 2014. Vegetation at the site (Poker Flat Research Range) consists primarily of black spruce underlain by permafrost. Land cover types within the study area were classified into six descriptive categories: relict thermokarst lake, open moss, shrub, deciduous forest, sparse conifer forest, and dense conifer forest. The horizontal temperature data exhibited spatial and temporal changes within the observed diurnal and seasonal variations. Differences in snow pack evolution and insulation effects co-varied with the land cover types. The apparatus used to monitor vertical temperature profiles generated high-resolution (ca. 5 mm) data for air column, snow cover, and ground surface. This research also identified several technical challenges in deploying and maintaining a DTS system under subarctic environments.

Abstract. One second measurements of the geomagnetic field variations, which meet INTERMAGNET quality and transmission specifications, require very special conditions to be maintained at the observatories over sustained periods of time, which pose serious challenges for the operators, particularly when infrastructural and environmental conditions are far from ideal. This work presents the progressive steps, which led to the successful setup of such measurements at the new magnetic observatory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in the Choutuppal (CPL) campus, Hyderabad (HYB), India. The 1 s magnetic measurements in trial mode commenced in 2015 using the newly developed observatory-grade 1 s fluxgate magnetometer, GEOMAG-02MO, from Research Centre GEOMAGNET (GM), Ukraine, and the Overhauser proton precession magnetometer, GSM-90F1, along with the data acquisition system, Magrec-4B from Mingeo, Hungary. Iterative tuning of the setup led to the generation of good quality data from 2016 onward. The processes of commissioning this setup in low-latitude conditions, with the aim of producing 1 s definitive data, and the characteristics of the data from this new instrument are presented here.

Abstract. The Tatuoca magnetic observatory (IAGA code: TTB) is located on a small island in the Amazonian delta in the state of Pará, Brazil. Its location close to the geomagnetic equator and within the South Atlantic Anomaly offers a high scientific return of the observatory's data. A joint effort by the National Observatory of Brazil (ON) and the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) was undertaken, starting from 2015 in order to modernise the observatory with the goal of joining the INTERMAGNET network and to provide real-time data access. In this paper, we will describe the history of the observatory, recent improvements, and plans for the near future. In addition, we will give some comments on absolute observations of the geomagnetic field near the geomagnetic equator.

Abstract. The paper discusses the possibility of improving temperature and noise characteristics of fluxgate variometers. The new fluxgate sensor with a Co-based amorphous ring core is described. This sensor is capable of improving the signal-to-noise ratio at the recording short-period geomagnetic variations. Besides the sensor performance, it is very important to create the high-stability compensation field that cancels the main Earth magnetic field inside the magnetic cores. For this purpose the new digitally controlled current source with low noise level and high temperature stability is developed.

Abstract. In 2013 a project was started by the geophysical centre in Dourbes to install a fully automated magnetic observatory in Antarctica. This isolated place comes with specific requirements: unmanned station during 6 months, low temperatures with extreme values down to −50 °C, minimum power consumption and satellite bandwidth limited to 56 Kbit s−1. The ultimate aim is to transfer real-time magnetic data every second: vector data from a LEMI-25 vector magnetometer, absolute F measurements from a GEM Systems scalar proton magnetometer and absolute magnetic inclination–declination (DI) measurements (five times a day) with an automated DI-fluxgate magnetometer. Traditional file transfer protocols (for instance File Transfer Protocol (FTP), email, rsync) show severe limitations when it comes to real-time capability. After evaluation of pro and cons of the available real-time Internet of things (IoT) protocols and seismic software solutions, we chose to use Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) and receive the 1 s data with a negligible latency cost and no loss of data. Each individual instrument sends the magnetic data immediately after capturing, and the data arrive approximately 300 ms after being sent, which corresponds with the normal satellite latency.

Abstract. Daily evapotranspiration is a major component of water resources management plans. In arid ecosystems, the quest for an efficient water budget is always hard to achieve due to insufficient irrigational water and high evapotranspiration rates. Therefore, monitoring of daily evapotranspiration is a key practice for sustainable water resources management, especially in arid environments. Remote sensing techniques offered a great help to estimate the daily evapotranspiration on a regional scale. Existing open-source algorithms proved to estimate daily evapotranspiration comprehensively in arid environments. The only deficiency of these algorithms is the course scale of the used remote sensing data. Consequently, the adequate downscaling algorithm is a compulsory step to rationalize an effective water resources management plan. Daily evapotranspiration was estimated fairly well using an Advance Along-Track Scanner Radiometer (AATSR) in conjunction with (MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) MERIS data acquired in July 2013 with 1 km spatial resolution and 3 days of temporal resolution under a surface energy balance system (SEBS) model. Results were validated against reference evapotranspiration ground truth values using standardized Penman–Monteith method with R2 of 0.879. The findings of the current research successfully monitor turbulent heat fluxes values estimated from AATSR and MERIS data with a temporal resolution of 3 days only in conjunction with reliable meteorological data. Research verdicts are necessary inputs for a well-informed decision-making processes regarding sustainable water resource management.

Abstract. Investigations of global and related local phenomena on Mars such as atmospheric circulation patterns, boundary layer phenomena, water, dust and climatological cycles and investigations of the planetary interior would benefit from simultaneous, distributed in situ measurements. Practically, such an observation network would require low-mass landers, with a high packing density, so a large number of landers could be delivered to Mars with the minimum number of launchers.The Mars Network Lander (MetNet Lander; MNL), a small semi-hard lander/penetrator design with a payload mass fraction of approximately 17 %, has been developed, tested and prototyped. The MNL features an innovative Entry, Descent and Landing System (EDLS) that is based on inflatable structures. The EDLS is capable of decelerating the lander from interplanetary transfer trajectories down to a surface impact speed of 50–70 m s−1 with a deceleration of < 500 g for < 20 ms. The total mass of the prototype design is ≈ 24 kg, with ≈ 4 kg of mass available for the payload.The EDLS is designed to orient the penetrator for a vertical impact. As the payload bay will be embedded in the surface materials, the bay's temperature excursions will be much less than if it were fully exposed on the Martian surface, allowing a reduction in the amount of thermal insulation and savings on mass.The MNL is well suited for delivering meteorological and atmospheric instruments to the Martian surface. The payload concept also enables the use of other environmental instruments. The small size and low mass of a MNL makes it ideally suited for piggy-backing on larger spacecraft. MNLs are designed primarily for use as surface networks but could also be used as pathfinders for high-value landed missions.

Abstract. In this study, we present an inversion approach to detect and localize inclusions in thick walls under natural solicitations. The approach is based on a preliminary analysis of surface temperature field evolution with time (for instance acquired by infrared thermography); subsequently, this analysis is improved by taking advantage of a priori information provided by ground-penetrating radar reconstruction of the structure under investigation. In this way, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the images achievable with the stand-alone thermal reconstruction method in the case of quasi-periodic natural excitation.