Ramona Adams
An Inmarsat subsidiary has delivered its Broadband Global Area Network satellite services to support non-profit organization Cordell Expeditions‘ remote island exploration in the Antarctic Ocean.
Inmarsat Government said Thursday the three-week mission aimed to study Heard Island’s volcanic environment and test satellite communications in isolation and extreme Antarctic weather.
BGAN worked to aid the expedition’s radio propagation analysis, TV broadcasts, video education and communications and blogging to update worldwide audiences on the activities, Inmarsat Government noted.
The subsidiary added it provided BGAN terminals and managed communication services to support base station and remote scientific teams as they collected samples and documented the island’s environmental features.
Kenneth Karr, a member of the Heard Island expedition, said Inmarsat Government’s satellite services worked to facilitate scientific collaboration and emergency response and helped upload archival images and data in extreme weather conditions such as high winds, snow, sleet and volcanic grit.
The expedition aimed to assess the impact of climate change in polar regions; discover unknown species; confirm that subterranean rivers carry glacial meltwater; document plastic waste and collect samples that may contain cryptophobia — organisms that can suspend metabolism for years or decades due to extreme conditions, Inmarsat Government noted.
