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Our team is researching whether synthetic aperture radar, attached to an aircraft, can be used to find polar bear dens hidden under the snow.
Current den-detection technology misses more than half of known dens, putting moms and cubs at great risk. Being able to detect and map polar bear dens is especially crucial in areas where human activity is heavy and increasing, such as Alaska’s North Slope.
Early pilot tests of this technology conducted with polar bear dens in Alaska and artificial dens in Utah yielded promising results. We plan to further refine the use of this technology by testing it on known den sites in Svalbard.
Brigham Young University, Artemis Inc., Norwegian Polar Institute, and Simon Fraser University.
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