A mobile observatory powered by sun and wind for near real time measurements of atmospheric, glacial, terrestrial, limnic and coastal oceanic conditions in remote off-grid areas
Søren Rysgaard,
Kim Bjerge,
Wieter Boone,
Egon Frandsen,
Michael Graversen,
Toke Thomas Høye,
Bjarne Jensen,
Geoffrey Johnen,
Marcin Antoni Jackowicz-Korczynski,
Jeffrey Taylor Kerby,
Simon Kortegaard,
Mikhail Mastepanov,
Claus Melvad,
Peter Schmidt Mikkelsen,
Keld Mortensen,
Carsten Nørgaard,
Ebbe Poulsen,
Tenna Riis,
Lotte Sørensen,
Torben Røjle Christensen
Affiliations
Søren Rysgaard
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark; Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Canada; Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Greenland; Corresponding author.
Kim Bjerge
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark
Wieter Boone
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; VLIZ - Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Oostende, Flamish Region, Belgium
Egon Frandsen
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Michael Graversen
MG Solar, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, Denmark
Toke Thomas Høye
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Bjarne Jensen
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
Geoffrey Johnen
VLIZ - Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Oostende, Flamish Region, Belgium
Marcin Antoni Jackowicz-Korczynski
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark; Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Sweden
Jeffrey Taylor Kerby
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
Simon Kortegaard
Mopa Patrol Både, Møllevej 21, Vilsund, Denmark
Mikhail Mastepanov
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark; Oulanka Research Station, Oulu University, Finland
Claus Melvad
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark
Peter Schmidt Mikkelsen
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Keld Mortensen
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
Carsten Nørgaard
MG Solar, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, Denmark
Ebbe Poulsen
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Tenna Riis
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Lotte Sørensen
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
Torben Røjle Christensen
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark; Oulanka Research Station, Oulu University, Finland
Climate change is rapidly altering the Arctic environment. Although long-term environmental observations have been made at a few locations in the Arctic, the incomplete coverage from ground stations is a main limitation to observations in these remote areas. Here we present a wind and sun powered multi-purpose mobile observatory (ARC-MO) that enables near real time measurements of air, ice, land, rivers, and marine parameters in remote off-grid areas. Two test units were constructed and placed in Northeast Greenland where they have collected data from cabled and wireless instruments deployed in the environment since late summer 2021. The two units can communicate locally via WiFi (units placed 25 km apart) and transmit near-real time data globally over satellite. Data are streamed live and accessible from (https://gios.org). The cost of one mobile observatory unit is c. 304.000€. These test units demonstrate the possibility for integrative and automated environmental data collection in remote coastal areas and could serve as models for a proposed global observatory system.
