Measuring Ice Thickness With EISFlow TM, a Fixed-mounted Helicopter Electromagnetic-laser System

Abstract

A helicopter-borne ice thickness sensor, mounted on the nose of an MBB B0105 helicopter, was developed for the Canadian Coast Guard in support of its ice breaking operations. The sensor utilises low-frequency electromagnetic induction measurements, coupled with a precise laser altimeter, to measure snow plus ice thickness over seawater to centimetre-level accuracy with the helicopter skids on the ice. The system can also be operated in a profiling mode, yielding similar mean ice thickness accuracy over the sensor’s footprint. For 1 m thick ice the footprint's diameter increases from 6 m for soft-landing to 12 m for profiling mode of operations. Soft-landing mode of observations are made with the helicopter's skids on the ice but not with the helicopter's weight on the ice.