Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

CANADA #22: Fundamental Geodesy in Polar Regions using VLBI  (VLBI @ Yellowknife)

Outline
Increasingly investigations into climate change, natural hazards and other important issues related to a variety of societal benefit areas are relying on a globally consistent geodetic reference frame. It is now being recognized that geodetic reference frame accuracy at the level of 1mm or better, stable over the long term, will be required to support these investigations. The global consistency of the frame required by these applications can only be achieved using modern “space geodetic” techniques. The Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) geodetic technique is essential for orientation, scale, and long-term stability over the longest baselines. To perform optimally (which will be required to have any hope of achieving the 1mm accuracy goal), VLBI needs to use a uniformly distributed set of global sites, some in polar regions - and preferably one in Canada’s north. At the present time, Canada operates a geodetic VLBI site at Yellowknife. The Yellowknife site uses an ancient antenna and nearly obsolete acquisition equipment. The antenna, which was acquired as “surplus”, was not designed for cold weather and can only be operated during summer months. It has long been recognized that modernization and an all-weather capability of the station is required. At the same time, the International VLBI Service for Astrometry and Geodesy (IVS) (a service of the International Association of Geodesy/International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics) is developing a vision for the future of global geodetic VLBI. This development is motivated by the realization that current infrastructure is aging and operating modes unsustainable, that achieving modern accuracy goals will require new ideas, and that technological advances in a number of areas have the potential of resolving these issues at a reasonable cost. This IPY proposal is for Canada to develop a new VLBI site at Yellowknife. Modernization of the site is urgently required, and this will provide an opportunity to contribute leadership in the international effort within the IVS to realize the new vision. Furthermore, this effort would provide international leadership on antenna operations in polar conditions.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Themes 3 & 5. A fundamental deliverable of VLBI operations is the orientation of the Earth in Space. This orientation is crucial for satellite systems, including GPS, which have inherently chaotically dynamic orbits. The polar regions are unique in that they provide the geometry (with other stations) needed to monitor the three aspects of this changing orientation, which results from motion of global fluids and crustal motion. Themes 1, 2, & 3. Globally consistent reference frames are essential for a variety of geophysical studies. In particular monitoring of climate-change induced sea-level rise in Canada must remove the effects of vertical motion of the crust – which cannot be done in a local frame.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
We anticipate strong support from our colleagues and fellow agencies in the International VLBI Service (of the IAG/IUGG). We anticipate that NASA would be a key partner because they are considering embarking on some prototype work related to the new IVS vision for the future. NASA would not contribute funding for the Yellowknife site, but would develop their own modern sites and we could operate with them in new observing modes.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Yellowknife

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: See 3.6            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Continued use of the facilities at the Yellowknife Geophysical Observatory.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The antenna would be a fully modern element of a global geophysical network, which would continue to operate for decades at Yellowknife.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
This pre-proposal has been reviewed and is being submitted by the Canadian Steering Committee (CSC). Ongoing discussions will integrate this pre-proposal into a larger network of related national and international initiatives. The CSC has initially sorted this pre-proposal into: THEME: Education, Outreach & Communication SUB-THEME: Geoscience and new technologies/challenges for sustainable development

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
yes

This project builds on existing projects and strengthens the Canadian Spatial Reference System (CSRS) in the region where it has the sparsest coverage and the greatest need for new infrastructure. A recent study conservatively estimates the socio-economic contribution from the CSRS to Canada’s annual GDP at more than $20B.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be organized and managed by Natural Resources Canada, within the Canadian Geodetic Service

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Natural Resources Canada has significantly increased outreach and communications efforts related to Geodesy in Canada’s North. An additional focus of this effort would be on the new antenna and it’s role in improving the lives of Canadians.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
The data collected will be archived and distributed internationally by the appropriate International Association of Geodesy (IAG) service. NRCan will also archive the data.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
There is currently no source of funding for this work (salary or O&M) in Canada. See budget breakdown below.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
An approximate budget estimate follows: 2006 – $100k for 1 engineer; $50k to design special features for polar operation 2007 – $100k for 1 engineer; $100k for 2 techs; $250k for antenna; $50k for site preparation) 2008 - $100k for 1 engineer; $100k for 2 techs; $150k for electronics 2009 - $100k for 1 engineer; $100k for 2 techs 2010 - $50k per year for disk shipping, power, maintenance, etc FROM TIMEFRAMES SECTION2.2: 2006 – develop plan and begin designs (mainly in Southern Canada) 2007 – develop site, install antenna and define acquisition electronics (Yellowknife) 2008 – test antenna and install acquisition electronics (~9 months, Yellowknife) 2009 – test complete site and develop operational procedures (~12 months, Yellowknife) 2010 – begin full operations. (Year-round, Yellowknife)

PROPOSER DETAILS

William Petrachenko
Natural Resources Canada
Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory
Penticton, B.C.
V2A 6K3
Canada

Tel: (250) 490-4356
Mobile: no
Fax: (250) 493-7767
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation