UW Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)

Ultrasonic Transducer System for Ice Melt Probe

The University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory has been developing an ice melt probe to study subglacial lakes up to five kilometers beneath the surface of the ice. One limiting factor in the depth that the probe can reach is a lack of telemetry. The student team designed a system that uses ultrasonic acoustic pulses to measure the thickness of meltwater that forms around the probe as it makes its descent.