Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System
Frequency-domain electromagnetic induction (EMI) is routinely used to detect the presence of seawater due to the inherent electrical conductivity of the seawater. This approach is used to infer sea-ice thickness (SIT). A time-domain EMI sensor is presented, which demonstrates the potential for corre...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/2/510 |
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| author | Danny Hills Becan Lawless Rauan Khangerey Jeremy Wilkinson Liam A. Marsh |
| author_facet | Danny Hills Becan Lawless Rauan Khangerey Jeremy Wilkinson Liam A. Marsh |
| author_sort | Danny Hills |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Frequency-domain electromagnetic induction (EMI) is routinely used to detect the presence of seawater due to the inherent electrical conductivity of the seawater. This approach is used to infer sea-ice thickness (SIT). A time-domain EMI sensor is presented, which demonstrates the potential for correlating the spectroscopic properties of the received signal with the distance to the sea surface. This is a novel approach to SIT measurement, which differs from existing methods in that it uses measurements from 10 kHz to 93 kHz rather than a single frequency. The sensor was tested at a tidal pool containing seawater and measured to have a conductivity of 57.3 mS/cm. Measurements were performed at a range of heights between 0.2 m and 1.9 m above the sea surface and for inclinations from 0° to 45°. These measurements were correlated with Finite Element Modeling (FEM) simulations performed in COMSOL. The measured and simulated datasets are presented along with a proposed form of post-processing, which establishes a correlation between the distance to the sea surface and the measured EMI response. This forms a proxy measurement for the absolute distance from the EMI sensor to the sea surface. Because the air gap between the sensor and the seawater is indicative of the properties of sea ice, this study demonstrates a novel approach to non-destructive measurement of sea-ice thickness. The measurements show that this distance to the sea surface can be estimated to within approximately 10% of the known value from 0.2–1.5 m and 15% from 1.5 to 1.9 m. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c11d4253e8684a629ac598648a46a113 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-c11d4253e8684a629ac598648a46a1132025-01-24T13:49:11ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-01-0125251010.3390/s25020510Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement SystemDanny Hills0Becan Lawless1Rauan Khangerey2Jeremy Wilkinson3Liam A. Marsh4Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKDepartment of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKDepartment of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKBritish Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UKDepartment of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKFrequency-domain electromagnetic induction (EMI) is routinely used to detect the presence of seawater due to the inherent electrical conductivity of the seawater. This approach is used to infer sea-ice thickness (SIT). A time-domain EMI sensor is presented, which demonstrates the potential for correlating the spectroscopic properties of the received signal with the distance to the sea surface. This is a novel approach to SIT measurement, which differs from existing methods in that it uses measurements from 10 kHz to 93 kHz rather than a single frequency. The sensor was tested at a tidal pool containing seawater and measured to have a conductivity of 57.3 mS/cm. Measurements were performed at a range of heights between 0.2 m and 1.9 m above the sea surface and for inclinations from 0° to 45°. These measurements were correlated with Finite Element Modeling (FEM) simulations performed in COMSOL. The measured and simulated datasets are presented along with a proposed form of post-processing, which establishes a correlation between the distance to the sea surface and the measured EMI response. This forms a proxy measurement for the absolute distance from the EMI sensor to the sea surface. Because the air gap between the sensor and the seawater is indicative of the properties of sea ice, this study demonstrates a novel approach to non-destructive measurement of sea-ice thickness. The measurements show that this distance to the sea surface can be estimated to within approximately 10% of the known value from 0.2–1.5 m and 15% from 1.5 to 1.9 m.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/2/510electromagnetic sensingtime-domain metal detectionsea-ice thicknessbroadband electromagnetic inductionEMI |
| spellingShingle | Danny Hills Becan Lawless Rauan Khangerey Jeremy Wilkinson Liam A. Marsh Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System Sensors electromagnetic sensing time-domain metal detection sea-ice thickness broadband electromagnetic induction EMI |
| title | Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System |
| title_full | Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System |
| title_fullStr | Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System |
| title_short | Towards the Measurement of Sea-Ice Thickness Using a Time-Domain Inductive Measurement System |
| title_sort | towards the measurement of sea ice thickness using a time domain inductive measurement system |
| topic | electromagnetic sensing time-domain metal detection sea-ice thickness broadband electromagnetic induction EMI |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/2/510 |
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