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[from SOAR home page, "http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/soar/soar.htm"] The Support Office for Aerogeophysical Research (SOAR) is a science project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs (OPP) to perform aerogeophysical research in Antarctica. This project is part of the University of Texas at Austin's Institute for Geophysics. The airborne platform is a modified DeHavillandTwin Otter with instrumentation to provide high-quality, integrated observations of gravity, magnetics, surface elevation, and ice thickness. The geophysical instrument suite carried aboard the airborne platform consists of a gravity meter, magnetometer, laser altimeter and ice-penetrating radar. Position information is provided by differential GPS (both pseudo-range and carrier-phase), supplemented by inertial navigation and precision pressure altimetry data. We integrate these geophysical and positioning systems to obtain the highest quality observations consistent with their simultaneous operation.
SOAR