Ice Detection For Under Ice AUV Navigation

This paper focuses on addressing the problem of enabling AUVs with the ability to determine the presence of ice above the AUV. The difference between depth and altimeter measurements is used as a key indicator about the presence of ice at the surface. Due to high levels of noise in this sensing, the difference is passed through a Bayes Filter, which estimates the probability of the AUV being under ice in real time. This filter uses sensor variance characteristics modeled in response to a variety of ice types and open water. Experiments were conducted both with simulated ice sheets in Avila Beach, CA as well as a research station in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.