NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A photo of the summit station model is available
on the Web at http://www.uh.edu/media/nr/2005/05may/051105gsummitstn.htm.
Contact Lisa Merkl for a high-resolution photo.
TACKLING 10,000-FOOT
ICE CAP NEXT FOR UH SPACE ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM
New Summit Station Planned for Greenland Summit Camp Offers Space
Applications
HOUSTON, May 12, 2005 – Scientists are preparing to step
up research in the Polar Regions, and University of Houston architecture
students and staff are designing the facility at the Greenland Summit
that sits atop more than 10,000 feet of ice.
The UH group was the only organization approached to submit a design
proposal for the first stage of a new summit station at the peak
of the Greenland ice cap. The project was undertaken in response
to the January 2004 GEO Summit and Facilities Planning Meeting.
GEO, the ad hoc intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations, includes
47 countries and 29 international organizations, becoming a movement
toward the development of a comprehensive, coordinated and sustained
global system of Earth observations.
The first stage of project posters was presented at the December
2004 American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference. A worldwide scientific
community that advances the understanding of Earth and space for
the benefit of humanity, AGU will hold another conference May 16
in New Orleans where the complete posters of the project will be
presented. Barry Lefer, atmospheric research scientist and assistant
professor from the UH geosciences department, will present the UH
Summit Station design at the meeting to representatives of the international
scientific community.
Leading fifth-year students from the UH College of Architecture’s
Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA), Olga
Bannova, a research faculty member with SICSA, has been working
with her colleagues, UH architecture students and experts from other
organizations to develop the research facility design for the U.S.
Summit Station located on the ice cap in central Greenland. Bannova
and four of the seven students working on the project will head
up north to Greenland for a one-week stay May 15-20 as guests of
the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the VECO Polar Resources
Company to conduct additional site evaluations and initiate tests
of the experimental scale mockup station as a basis for possible
design refinements. The project is being done in preparation for
the pursuit of a possible future grant for continuing collaboration.
The large plywood model of the proposed building was put in place
in early May, and the snowdrift circumstances around it will be
monitored through summer 2005 with the measurements and photos to
be presented at the next AGU and International Polar Year meetings.
A scale model is being created for wind tunnel testing at the Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
The UH project has involved planning support from professionals
at VECO, UH scientists and New Hampshire University researchers.
The design applies a jack-up structure approach similar to construction
of offshore drilling rigs to adjust for buildup of snow that would
otherwise bury any facility. The structure is also aerodynamically
designed to minimize wind loads and accumulations of drifting snow
that could hamper site operations.
The UH Summit Station design optimizes energy conservation and
environmentally friendly features. Wind power and solar panels will
provide electrical energy. Water and waste materials will be recycled
to the extent possible, using proven and experimental processes.
“Smart” devices will be used to control sunlight for
efficient natural heating and cooling, and a large hydroponics plant
growth facility will provide fresh vegetables to reduce costs for
transporting food to the crews.
The proposed UH Summit Station facility includes two major types
of structures. The first, a triangular three-story building approximately
200 feet long on each side, will offer scientific labs, housing
accommodations for about 25 people, an atmospheric and astronomical
experiment area on the roof, and the hydroponics greenhouse. A separate,
lower structure will house mechanical support equipment and serve
as a vehicle maintenance and logistics storage facility.
“With 2007-08 announced to be the International Polar Year,
compelling science issues will be addressed with regard to both
Polar Regions – Concordia in the Antarctic and Summit Camp
in the Arctic,” Bannova said. “This will involve multi-national
and interdisciplinary interactions that attract the next generation
of scientists, engineers and leaders. With growing interest in polar
research and the necessity now being recognized for a new station
at the Greenland Summit with better research and accommodation conditions,
we saw an opportunity at SICSA to bring our space expertise to the
table.”
Bannova says the station also is being proposed as a test-bed facility
for NASA and related research for space missions. There are direct
analogies between Arctic and Martian exploration related to symptoms
and timelines of missions, as well as research goals, opportunities
and risks. Greenland snowdrifts, for instance, are similar to dust
storms posing difficulties in research on Mars. Psychological, social
and cultural aspects of life in Arctic and Antarctic remote areas,
outer space and other environments also have similar isolation,
confinement, deprivation and risk factors that building designers
must consider.
“Important priorities are to provide a high-quality environment
for research and science experiments and to minimize development,
construction and operational costs while optimizing safety, versatility,
autonomy and human factors,” Bannova said. “The research
topics that can be investigated both at the Greenland Summit and
during space missions include such human factors research as psychological
and physical effects, hydroponics study and conditions for people
during a long stay in isolation.”
Students participating in the project are Veronica Honstein, Spencer
Howard, Brian Malone, Mayur Patel, Clay Richards, Brian Swartz and
Andre Thompson.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
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