GPR and UAS surveys were conducted at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) as part of the University of Houston's (UH) Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project (USIP). USIP was originally a NASA program created for the purpose of engaging undergraduate students in the development and deployment of Earth and space instrumentation. It has since become an independent project directed by the University of Houston with the same goals in mind. USIP is a multidisciplinary student lead project based on the 5E instructional model, allowing students to decide on and direct their own research projects with the consultation of professors.
As part of the research, two surveys were made using aGPR and UAS at the CRREL tunnel near Fairbanks, Alaska. The CRREL tunnel penetrates through soil, gravel,ice, wood, and bones which have been radiocarbon dated toaround 40,000 years old. It was originally excavated by the U.S. Army and is currently being operated by the U.S. Army Corp of engineers. Throughout the summer, the tunnel is kept at freezing temperatures to maintain the permafrost while also exposing it, making it an ideal location for local permafrost research. The data collected can be built upon with other surveys to monitor permafrost layers as well as mapping out ice wedges within the permafrost, which could potentially melt forming thermokarst sinkholes.
Monitoring permafrost in the subsurface is vital to understanding and mapping areas with the potential of developing into future thermokarst sinkholes. Future developments of thermokarst sinkholes could potentially cause damage to highways, buildings, and possibly the Alaskan pipeline. To better understand these changes in the permafrost and the associated risks, a survey was carriedout in multiple steps using both GPR data and visible-thermal camera data from a UAS. This data is intended to be built upon in the future with other surveys for the continued monitoring of permafrost layers.
