Malcom Foster
Research Interests: Summary
I have designed, built and deployed a remote environmental monitoring system in the Vestfold Hills of Antarctica. The device records at a five minute interval, light at different wavelengths, wind speed, air temperature, water temperature, ice temperature and ice thickness. The data can be downloaded from anywhere in the world and added to a grid-connected data base for sharing with interested parties. This work will involve the development of hardware and software tools for the remote monitoring of environmental parameters of Crooked Lake in the Vestfold Hills of Antartica. Environmental parameters such as ice thickness, UV and visible light, temperature profiles, wind speed, GPS coordinates and possible video images will be logged locally at the site via a rugged data acquisition unit. The stored local data will be transmitted via a wireless link to the nearby Davis Station (15km distance). From here the data will be collated and broadcast via the internet to interested parties within the UK. It is understood that the proportion of time allocated to the software and hardware aspects will depend upon the durability of the hardware logging instruments. Hence at this stage the percentage division between the two components is unknown. This work involved a period of 12 months working in Antarctica and formed the basis of my thesis. I am currently at the submission stage of my PhD. |