Vanda Station (PS05): R-910 - McMurdo Dry Valley Management Plan Revisions
Project: McMurdo Dry Valley Management Plan Revisions (R-910)
- PI: Colin Harris
- Project Lead: Erika Schreiber
- Funding Source: NSF-OPP Antarctic
Description
The McMurdo Dry Valleys are approximately 100 kilometers west of McMurdo Station, across McMurdo Sound. They comprise a series of mostly unglaciated valleys within the Transantarctic Mountains. The ground is primarily covered in loose gravel and a series of meltwater lakes. The lakes’ surfaces are persistently frozen aside from moats along their shores that melt out each summer. No vegetation is present aside from algae and lichen in limited quantities. Wright Valley runs approximately east-west and contains Lake Vanda. At the east end of the lake is an Antarctica New Zealand hut, Vanda Station.
Objective
The goal of this UAS survey was to develop an accurate three-dimensional model of the facility zone. High-resolution imagery of the facility zone was collected to enable use of Surface from Motion (SfM) methodology.