Scientists can now get a glimpse at what lies beneath Arctic sea ice with the help of a new autonomous underwater vehicle designed to wear the extreme conditions of the Arctic. Nunatsiaq Online reports that the “Nereid Under Ice” vehicle will collect high resolution images of the sea floor beneath the Arctic ice, allowing scientists to map and gather data in a way that was previously impossible.
“There are no other adequate methods available to science at this time: satellites cannot see through ice, and research vessels stir up the under-ice environment,” said Antje Boetius of Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, in a recent news release according to Nunatsiaq Online.