Controlling unsafe ice in Antarctica

Home page Projects Controlling unsafe ice in Antarctica

Foto: Harvey Goodwin i Norsk Polarinstitutt.

Photo: Harvey Goodwin at the Norwegian Polar Institute.

The Norwegian Polar Institute receives supplies by sea once a year. The unloading operation takes a week. Cautus Geo monitors the ice edge to secure the operation.

Problem statement

The Norwegian Polar Institute's permanent landing stage was lost in 2021. A large iceberg sailed into the site and the ice calved. Finding a new and safe location has been challenging. The 200 metre thick ice in Antarctica is less stable than it used to be. This could jeopardise the crew, equipment and security of supply during the week-long unloading operation.

Solution

Cautus Geo developed a customised solution based on experience of measuring snowfall in 2024. Starting with the unloading of the annual supply for 2026, the work will be secured with continuous and automatic monitoring with sound alerts. The keywords are power supply via solar cells, drawire sensors, total station, satellite communication for data analysis in real time via Cautus Web and siren for sound alert.

The Norwegian Polar Institute is the authority, area manager and service provider at the Troll research station. Once a year, the station's equipment is secured. It comes by sea from Norway via Cape Town.

During the unloading operation at the ice edge 300 kilometres from Troll, 100 containers are brought in. They will all arrive safely at Troll.

The Norwegian Polar Institute wants to minimise the risk for those who work with unloading equipment. "Safety is important. Nobody wants the ice to calve while work is in progress.

Automatic monitoring in Antarctica is demanding. The challenges are multifaceted. They include power supply and communication solutions.

In the autumn of 2024, the Norwegian Polar Institute began looking in earnest for automatic solutions for monitoring ice conditions. The institute contacted Cautus Geo.

In no time, the design was ready. The first year with a semi-automatic solution. Later, the design was further developed. Today's solution is fully automatic.

The monitoring system must also withstand disassembly and storage between uses. It can be easily disassembled and reassembled, stored and used again. Calving can occur all year round. The equipment that was used for the first time in the southern summer of 2025 is stored on Troll between each unloading operation.