DLR和AWI测试能提高航行能力的卫星方案
德国宇航中心（DLR）正致力于研究可大幅提高船舶在冰区航行能力的卫星系统。地球观测卫星TerraSAR-X和TanDEM-X所提供的高分辨率图像使这一切成为可能。
来自阿富雷德-魏根纳极地和海洋研究所（AWI）不来梅亥姆霍兹中心的科学家们目前正随同“Polarstern”号科考船前往南极测试这项技术的实用性。
北极夏季海冰的减少将为航运界开辟新的航道，不仅能够在这里开采化石燃料资源，还可以缩短商船的航行时间。但是新兴航道带来的风险也很大，寒冷、风暴和冰山将给船员和船舶双方都带来巨大的挑战。在紧急情况下，搜救任务也将因为这些地区缺乏相应海上基础设施而难以推进。此外，船舶用以穿越极地洋区的导航实时数据也严重不足。
新卫星系统将通过实时条件提高安全性
DLR正在研发旨在加强航道沿线安全的卫星系统。这些系统以雷达卫星TerraSAR-X和Tandem-X提供的高分辨率图为基础。卫星直接向图像传输给DLR位于施特雷利茨的地面站，在那里，图像可以获得近乎实时的处理。来自DLR施特雷利茨实时数据中心的Egbert Schwarz说：“我们正在开发一个合适的处理链。”由DLR不来梅研究中心开发的算法可自动分析船舶所在位置的周边数据。“我们的集成式解决方案包括一个可直接向船舶输送处理后数据产品的全自动传输系统。该方案还对冰山进行分类，并将其标记为潜在危险。”Schwarz补充道。
行驶在威德尔海
DLR和AWI目前正在位于南极洲沿岸水域的“Polarstern”号科考船上测试这种方法的实用性。“Polarstern”号科考队的主要目的是研究冬季冰盖和南极磷虾数量变化之间的关系。AWI的一位海冰物理学家Thomas Krumpen说：“卫星图像不仅帮助我们找到穿越冰区的最佳航道，还在过去几天协助我们确认适合开展科学实验的冰川。”此外，他还同他的队员在“Polarstern”号上使用AWI为测量海冰厚度专门研发的以直升机为基础的装置“EM-Bird”。到目前为止，这项卫星方案的冰层厚度测量结果被证实无法满足精度要求。在未来，DLR的不来梅海事安全研究中心和奥伯芬霍夫微波和雷达机构将综合运用直升机测量设备采集的冰层信息和卫星高分辨率图像来提高该系统的实用性。DLR和AWI在这一领域的合作还将延伸到北极地区的科考探险。
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DLR, AWI Test Satellite-Based Methods for Improving Maritime Navigation
The German Aerospace Center is working on a satellite-based system for substantially improving ship navigation in ice-affected waters. The Earth observation satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X provide the high-resolution images needed to make this possible.
Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) – the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research based in Bremerhaven – are currently on their way to Antarctica on board the research vessel ‘Polarstern’ to test the practicality of this technique.
The decline of arctic sea ice during the summer period will open new routes for the shipping sector, permitting the development of fossil fuel resources and also cutting the travel time for navigation by commercial vessels. But the risks presented by these new maritime routes are high; freezing temperatures, storms and icebergs pose a challenge for both crews and ships. In the event of an emergency situation, search and rescue missions would be significantly set back by the lack of marine infrastructure in these regions. In addition, there is insufficient real-time data that ships could use for navigating through polar oceans.
New satellite-based systems will ensure greater security in real time
DLR is developing satellite-based systems geared towards enhancing safety along maritime routes. They are based on high-resolution images provided by the radar satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X. The satellites transmit the images directly to the DLR ground station in Neustrelitz, where they are processed in near real time. “We are developing a suitable processing chain,”says Egbert Schwarz from the Real-Time Data Center at the DLR site in Neustrelitz. An algorithm developed at the DLR research centre in Bremen automatically analyses the data for the presence of ships. “The integrated solution includes a fully-automated delivery system that sends the data products directly to the ship after processing. It also classifies icebergs and marks them as potential hazards,” Schwarz adds.
Travelling the Weddell Sea
DLR and AWI are currently testing the extent to which this method is applicable on board the research vessel ‘Polarstern’ in the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica. The primary purpose of the ‘Polarstern’ expedition is to study the relationship between winter ice cover and changes in the population of Antarctic krill. “The satellite images not only help us find the best routes through the ice, they also identity suitable ice floes on which to conduct scientific experiments over several days,” says Thomas Krumpen, a sea ice physicist at AWI. In addition, he and his team on board ‘Polarstern’ use a helicopter-based device named ‘EM-Bird’ that AWI developed specifically to measure the ice thickness. Until now, satellite-based methods have proved unable to measure ice thickness with the required precision. In future, the DLR Research Centre for Maritime Safety in Bremen and the DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute in Oberpfaffenhofen will use a combination of the ice information acquired by the helicopter measuring device and the satellites to improve the system. The cooperation between DLR and AWI in this field will include additional research expeditions in the Arctic.
