The SubZeroSpace project have consolidated the challenges encountered in the Ocean Worlds programme into a unified understanding and technological platform for use both in space and on Earth.
We have utilised cutting-edge artificial intelligence that enables us to both see and communicate through ice. This allows us to detect obstacles or other points of interest through ice and the ice-water interface.
Furthermore, by using water as an acoustic medium, we can now communicate both vertically and horizontally through ice, creating entirely new opportunities to transmit data from previously inaccessible areas.
The technology developed in the project was initially tested experimentally in the lab and later tried out in field conditions on Svalbard and the Juvfonne glacier.
Another key application for the acoustic technology developed in the project is biomass estimation, where it is used in echo sounders to identify and estimate both fish species and biomass.
At the same time, the same methods provide a foundation for space operations, as acoustics can be used to detect signs of biomass in the form of air bubbles or other biologically relevant markers.
This opens up new possibilities for detecting and mapping living organisms under extreme conditions, both in Earthʼs oceans and in ice-covered environments elsewhere in the solar system.
Header image: Shutterstock.