RT journal article
T1 Testing a low-cost ultrasonic sensor to monitor snow depth under harsh Antarctic weather conditions in the South Shetland Islands
A1 Pablo, Miguel Angel de
A1 Rosado Moscoso, Belén
A2 Matemáticas
K1 Antarctica
K1 monitoring
K1 snow
K1 temperature
K1 ultrasonic
AB Monitoring snow depth in Antarctica is essential for understanding permafrost dynamics and soil thermal regimes. This study assessesthe performance of low-cost, high-resolution, autocleaning ultrasonic sensors (MB7574-SCXL-Maxsonar-WRST7), powered by lithiumD-type battery Geoprecision-Box dataloggers, in the South Shetland Islands. Traditional methods for estimating snow thickness, such asair temperature sensors in snow stakes, are economical but involve highmaintenance costs and various complexities. To address these issues,we deployed ultrasonic sensors across 12 stations on Livingston and Deception islands from early 2023 to early 2024. Located at altitudesfrom 15 to 274 m above sea level and with varying wind exposures, these devices demonstrated notable durability and reliability, with onlyone sensor failure occurring due to structural damage.Data processing involved using an R script to filter out noise, and this process providedaccurate hourly snow-depth measurements and revealed significant spatial and altitudinal variability, with depths ranging from20 to 110 cm.Snow accumulation began in April and peaked in August and October, with major snowfall events contributing temporarily to snow depthbut not to long-term accumulation. Our findings suggest that these sensors, as low-cost alternatives, could be integrated into networks suchas the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P), supporting climate and permafrost studies.
PB Cambridge University Press
SN 1365-2079
YR 2025
FD 2025-07-16
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39017
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39017
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 21-sep-2026