ACM: Digital Library: Communications of the ACM

Forecasting rates of sea level change in polar ice shelves: Polar scientists, along with atmospheric and ocean scientists, face an urgent need to understand sea level rise around the globe. Ice-shelf environments represent extreme environments for sampling and sensing. Current efforts to collect sensed data are limited and use tethered robots with traditional sampling frequency and collection limitations. The ability to collect extensive data about conditions at or near the ice shelves will inform our understanding about changes in ocean circulation patterns, as well as feedbacks with wind circulation. New research on intelligent sensors would support selective data collection, onboard data analysis, and adaptive sensor steering.