Are you attending #ArcticMatters Day? Frontier Scientists (@FrontierSi) will be. On January 14, 2016, visit our table and try your hand at Arctic UAVs– An Alaska Game App.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle challenge mobile game app aims to inspire interest about real science and research opportunities in Alaska. Arctic UAVs is a series of missions abstractly based on real research missions executed by the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration ACUASI program. Before, during, or after successfully completing a mission, the player can access links to the FrontierScientists.com website hosting videos with scientists describing their real UAV missions. We look forward to hearing your input after playing this under-construction game app. Expect to fly in the Aleutian Islands counting seals, along the Beaufort Sea sea ice mapping terrain, and in Kachemak Bay over sea otters. Speak directly with Elizabeth O’Connell, Frontier Scientists director, and with app developer Jay Byam, research project assistant, Research Computing Systems, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.
Arctic Matters Day: A Public Symposium is a free event held on January 14 in Washington DC that will highlight rapid change in the Arctic and emphasize ‘What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic’ – it affects us all.
Location: National Academy of Sciences Building
2101 Constitution Ave NW Washington DC 20418
The event is organized by the Polar Research Board (@earthandlife) of the The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine (@theNASEM). They write:
Join us for a series of lively, public-friendly presentations from top scientists and other experts who study the connections between Arctic-region changes and impacts that can affect people and places around the globe. Attendees can also explore a series of interactive exhibits and displays. The event is free and open to the public.
If you’re not in the DC area you can still check out free Arctic Matters content:
Try out the Arctic Matters interactive web tool: see the global effects of changes in the arctic.
Read the booklet Arctic Matters: The Global Connection to Changes in the Arctic.
Follow the Twitter stream for related tweets at #ArcticMatters.
During the event Polar Science Arctic Issues topics will be explored, including these, listed on the Arctic Matters website:
- the impact of melting ice on global sea-level rise
- how arctic-region warming can potentially affect weather patterns across the northern hemisphere
- how artic-region changes such as melting permafrost and changing “albedo” can exacerbate global climate change
- effects of climate change on the range and migration patterns of fish, birds, insects, and other Arctic-based animal populations
- political and security implications of the growing extraction of the Arctic’s natural resources, and from increased commercial, military, and tourism-related shipping across the region
- the need to involve Arctic indigenous groups in decision-making, and to ensure respect for their rights, culture, and changing needs
How about exploring the levels of the under-construction Arctic UAVs– Alaska Game App:
Mission #1: You are on a boat in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Seas are rough (‘Deadliest Catch’ weather) with 25 mph winds blowing rain sideways. The mission is to bring the quad-copter back to the boat and into the hand of the quad-copter catcher on deck ready and waiting. Related video: Fly Scout Fly.
Mission #2: Camera-shy sea otters need to be counted. Scientists also want to know what they are eating. The quad-copter flies over feeding otters to take photos of what they are eating without disturbing them or other wildlife in their habitat. Related video: UAV over Otters
Mission #3: Inupiat blaze trails every whaling season in newly formed sea ice to the ocean’s edge to be able to set up camp. It is difficult to navigate over the sea ice with snow machines; trails must be made in correct locations to protect the whaling crew in case the sea ice fractures and breaks loose. Arctic animals such as polar bears are often seen along these trails. Getting an aerial view of where the trail should be is extremely helpful. Related video: Mapping Ice Trails by UAV
Even if you can’t visit us during #ArcticMatters Day, look forward to the upcoming game app release!
FS 2016
Frontier Scientists: presenting scientific discovery in the Arctic and beyond
Play science game app UAV challenge Arctic Matters Day Frontier Scientists
