• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
SRI logo
  • About
    • Press room
    • Our history
  • Expertise
    • Advanced imaging systems
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Biomedical R&D services
    • Biomedical sciences
    • Computer vision
    • Cyber & formal methods
    • Education and learning
    • Innovation strategy and policy
    • National security
    • Ocean & space
    • Quantum
    • Robotics, sensors & devices
    • Speech & natural language
    • Video test & measurement
  • Ventures
  • NSIC
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • 日本支社
Search
Close
Blog archive September 17, 2015

SRI Research at the Ends of the Earth

Some of SRI International’s most impactful work happens to take place in the most spectacular settings. In addition to extensive information technology, logistic, and communications support for NSF science projects in the Arctic, SRI builds and operates world-leading atmospheric research radars in some very remote places.

One of those places is Resolute, on Cornwallis Island in the Canadian Arctic. Resolute is the second farthest northern settlement in Canada. The people who run the infrastructure there say “Resolute is not the end of the world, but you can indeed see it from there.”

Home to an Inuit community of about 150 people, Resolute is one of the coldest inhabited places on the planet. The average annual temperature is a few degrees above zero (~4°F, −16°C).

SRI has operated a research station at Resolute for more than 20 years and installed a huge atmospheric radar system designed and built by SRI engineers (a 2-MW phased array Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar, or AMISR) there a few years ago. Although the station is normally operated from Menlo Park, California over a satellite link, members of SRI’s Center for Geospace Studies spent much of July and August in Resolute finalizing the installation of a second AMISR system to be operated by our Canadian colleagues.

Six SRI staff were on the ground in Resolute, supported by many more in Menlo Park as well as contractors in Resolute, for the final push. We were lucky to find the area enjoying the best weather any of us can remember.

Resolute lies on the north shore of the fabled North West Passage and, in the clear arctic air, the team were treated to spectacular sunsets over the sea and smaller islands when returning to the hotel in the late evening. At this time of year, the days shorten rapidly as the continuous daylight of summertime midnight sun change to the months of winter darkness when the Sun doesn’t rise at all. Every day’s sunset brought a new aspect to one of the finest views of any commute.

The new radar completes a first-of-its-kind pair looking in opposite directions into both the deep polar cap and into the region where the northern lights (aurora borealis) form in response to changes in the interaction between the Sun and the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.

When running at full power, the radars consume nearly three times as much electricity as the whole of the rest of the settlement, so the installation includes its own dedicated diesel generators. With only one cargo ship a year, and only one fuel tanker visit, the logistics of operating a major facility at such a remote site can be challenging.

Nevertheless, the radars give us an unprecedented view of this complex region of Geospace and will help us understand how the Earth responds to changes in its interactions with the Sun and the important effects they can have on technological systems such as GPS and radio communications.

SRI’s Center for Geospace also operates a similar radar in Alaska, another radar in Greenland, and the Arecibo Observatory (the world’s largest dish) in Puerto Rico. These facilities are all owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by SRI under a variety of cooperative support agreements. The views from all these facilities are spectacular.

The Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Share this
Career call to action image

Work with us

Search jobs

How can we help?

Once you hit send…

We’ll match your inquiry to the person who can best help you.

Expect a response within 48 hours.

Our work

Case studies

Publications

Timeline of innovation

Areas of expertise

Institute

Leadership

Press room

Media inquiries

Compliance

Careers

Job listings

Contact

SRI Ventures

Our locations

Headquarters

333 Ravenswood Ave
Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA

+1 (650) 859-2000

Subscribe to our newsletter


日本支社
SRI International
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • DMCA
  • Copyright © 2023 SRI International
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}