---
title: Extreme Drone Ops Could Improve Ice Measurements
date: 2022-04-21T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/extreme-drone-ops-could-improve-ice-measurements"
section: Articles
---
# Extreme Drone Ops Could Improve Ice Measurements

*April 21, 2022* — by [Robert Herschbach](/author/robert-herschbach)


> Unmanned Aircraft Experts Assist in NOAA Testing to Support Better Climate, Weather Monitoring

*Sea Ice 19613685142 1920x1080 — UMD UAS Test Site engineer Grant Williams (below, left) and chief pilot Darren Robey (below, right) are helping federal researchers develop improved ways of monitoring ice at sea and in lakes—potentially improving weather forecasts and climate projections.*

The temperature hovered in the teens, but to University of Maryland drone experts Darren Robey and engineer Grant Williams, the bone-chilling blast was perfect for testing not just their endurance, but that of the rotorcraft drone they were flying over a frozen Lake Michigan.

Robey, the chief pilot, and Williams, an engineer at the UMD Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site in St. Mary’s County, were there to help launch a system that could ultimately help the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)](https://www.noaa.gov/) take better measurements of polar sea ice, as well as ice on the Great Lakes and other bodies of water. The technology could also provide crucial information to weather forecasters as well as help climatologists monitor earlier yearly melting of polar ice—a key gauge of climate change.


*Grant Williams and chief pilot Darren Robey*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Aerospace Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/aerospace-engineering), [Climate Change](https://today.umd.edu/topic/climate-change), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [A. James Clark School of Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/james-clark-school-engineering)