Development of under-ice topography survey method using a small-scaled Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)

Abstract

Lake and marine sediments are important research targets for reconstructing past environments and ecological studies. When the lake and sea surfaces are frozen, it is possible to move on the ice, making it easy to access a broad area. Therefore, by acquiring basic information such as depth and images with portable instruments, more extensive surveys can be conducted during the freezing season. We have modified the commercially available BlueROV2 to perform a topographic survey under the ice in lakes and shallow water in high mountain regions and Antarctica. In this paper, we report on the operational evaluation in cold regions during the training at Lake Shumarinai, Hokkaido, Japan.