During their current visit to Svalbard, EORC researchers have been teaching UNIS students from all over Europe on how drones can be used for remote sensing in the high Arctic. Invited by our UNIS collaborators Prof. Dr. Simone Lang (UNIS) and Prof. Dr. Eero Rinne (UNIS), they spend multiple days in the class room and out in the Tundra to record and analyse data.
Dr. Jakob Schwalb-Willmann taught a 6-day course segment on UAV remote sensing for Arctic biology as part of Simone Lang’s six-week MSc. course on Arctic Winter Ecology. Students were introduced to remote sensing, drones and in situ data acquisition for remote sensing research in the class room, before going into the field for data collection in the subsequent days. Together with Prof. Dr. Simone Lang and our long-time collaborator Prof. Dr. Larissa Beumer (UNIS), students learned how to map the topography, snow texture and snow depth using LiDAR remote sensing at cm-resolution and how to use differential GNSS to measure snow depth and reindeer traces such as tracks and craters in situ in the field. For this, the group visited two research areas in Adventdalen and Endalen, were UNIS and EORC had already collected data in the past in ongoing research projects. Back in the lab, students were introduced to spatial data handling, geo-statistics and modeling, ultimately resulting in them being able to predict reindeer selection and habitat suitability throughout the two research areas.
In parallel, Dr. Mirjana Bevanda gave a guest lecture introducing drone remote sensing to BSc. students enrolled in a multi-month course on snow and ice processes taught by Eero Rinne. Students learned, how drone remote sensing can be used for snow and ice research, e.g. for monitoring glaciers, and were introduced into the requirements and planning necessities for drone mapping.
We are glad for the opportunity to share our knowledge on drone remote sensing for high Arctic research at UNIS and for the continued collaboration between UNIS and the EORC at University of Würzburg!
