Autonomous Low-Power Instrument Platform to enable Remote High Latitude Array Deployment

A major driver in the advancement of geophysical sciences is improvement in the quality and resolution of data for use in scientific analysis, discovery, and for assimilation into or validation of empirical and physical models. The need for more and better measurements together with improvements in technical capabilities are driving the ambition to deploy arrays of autonomous geophysical instrument platforms in remote regions. This is particularly true in the polar regions where measurements are presently sparse due to the remoteness, lack of infrastructure and harshness of the environment. The need for the acquisition of continuous long term data from remote polar location exists across geophysical disciplines and is a generic infrastructure problem. The infrastructure, however, to support autonomous instrument platforms in polar environments is still in the incipient stages of development. We report the development of an autonomous low-power magnetic data collection system. The prototype is presently being tested at South Pole with the goal of establishing a magnetometer array on the Antarctic Plateau along the 40 degree magnetic meridian. The system is designed to operate at least 3 years unattended and to provide data access via Iridium satellite communication. The system will store 1-second measurements of the magnetic field variation (0.1nT resolution) in 3 vector components plus a variety of engineering status and environment parameters. The design and test results will be discussed along with future design research plans.