Here are six ways that drones are making their way into geosciences research and industry through innovative applications.
drones & ROVs
Posted inFeatures
Thirteen Innovative Ways Humans Use Drones
From the bottom of acid lakes to up in the sky, autonomous vehicles are changing the way scientists view and study Earth.
Posted inScience Updates
Drone Peers into Open Volcanic Vents
An unmanned aerial vehicle provided the high-resolution data that allowed scientists to construct their first detailed map of erupting vents at Stromboli, one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Detecting Gas Leaks with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
A Norwegian team develops an improved, cost-effective method to detect chemical discharges under the sea.
Posted inScience Updates
An Autonomous Boat to Investigate Acidic Crater Lakes
A novel aquatic drone ventured into highly acidic waters to test the feasibility of remotely exploring and surveying hazardous volcanic lakes.
Posted inNews
New Technique Reveals Iceberg Calving Process
Researchers used unmanned aerial vehicle data to model the growth of a fracture that broke a 1-kilometer-long iceberg off a Greenland glacier.
Posted inScience Updates
Unmanned Platforms Monitor the Arctic Atmosphere
In the Arctic, drones and tethered balloons can make crucial atmospheric measurements to provide a unique perspective on an environment particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Posted inScience Updates
Drones in a Cold Climate
As climate change reshapes the Earth's polar regions, scientists turn to drone-mounted cameras to measure sea ice. One expedition found out that flying drones near Antarctica isn't easy.
Posted inNews
Autonomous Undersea Technologies to Vie for New XPRIZE
The competition aims at improved health and understanding of Earth's oceans by spurring teams to devise better robotic technologies for seafloor mapping and exploration.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Underwater Gliders Find Swirling Vortices of Warm, Salty Water
Vortices formed off the west coast of Sardinia could play a large role in Mediterranean water circulation and mixing and are significant for marine ecosystems and regional climate.