High-accuracy GNSS powers groundbreaking Canadian Antarctic mapping effort

In a significant milestone for Canadian polar research, the country’s first fully domestic Antarctic expedition depended on Arrow Gold+ GNSS receivers, developed in Montreal, to obtain high-precision positioning data. Operating in one of the planet’s most demanding and least-charted regions, the expedition brought together a broad range of Canadian scientific and technical expertise, reflecting a coordinated national effort with global relevance.

The month-long journey around the South Shetland Islands and the northern Antarctic Peninsula yielded surveys of coastal and oceanic sites. The crew relied on a small, uncrewed surface vessel (USV) carrying various equipment for bathymetric surveys, including an onboard computer, IMU sensor and multibeam sonar.

To find the USV’s precise position in an environment with no land-based RTK infrastructure, the team relied on the Arrow Gold+ GNSS receiver, designed and manufactured by Canadian-based Eos Positioning Systems. The Arrow Gold+ made use of Galileo High Accuracy Service (GalHAS), a free satellite-based PPP correction available worldwide from the EU for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

“There aren’t any RTK networks in Antarctica,” said Ocean Mapping Group research scientist Kevin Wilcox, who piloted the USV. “That sent us looking for the Arrow Gold+ and GalHAS corrections. When we found these, we realized we had a possible solution.”

While using GalHAS corrections, the Arrow Gold+ provided estimated accuracies of about ten centimetres horizontal and 15–20cm vertical. “The vertical accuracy was especially important for our bathymetric work,” Wilcox said, “as any vertical error would directly add error to our depth.” Sites surveyed include Admiralty Bay, Livingston Island and Deception Island, which includes an active, flooded volcano caldera. The resulting, high-accuracy maps will support further scientific and oceanographic research, environmental monitoring and improvements to marine charts.