3D Reconstruction of Pancake Sea Ice Using Lidar and Cameras

Agoritsa Spirakis, James H. Hepworth, Robyn Verrinder

Abstract: This paper presents a preliminary investigation into the 3D reconstruction of pancake sea ice using a multi-sensor approach with LiDAR (Livox Avia) and depth cameras (Intel Realsense D455). Pancake sea ice is a type of ice formed in the dynamic region of the Antarctic Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ). Current models simplify the pancake floe geometry, neglecting the effects ice floe geometry has on the mobility of the sea ice. A series of scans were taken on the SCALE Winter 2022 expedition where a static approach was explored using the customised multi-sensor imaging rig. A pipeline for processing the data using the advantages of a multi-sensor system was explored. Statistical data using established methods in literature resulted in centimetre level roughness measurements. A discussion of the validation and limitations of the sensors is presented.