The Cryosphere Innovation Seasonal Ice Mass Balance Buoy 3 (SIMB3) is a four-season, autonomous, platform for in-situ observation of sea, lake, and pond ice.
Developed for use in the high-Arctic, the 17ft (4.5m) long buoy enables remote monitoring of floating ice anywhere in the world while collecting a suite of data, including ice thickness, growth, and melt. Data from SIMB3s is available immediately after transmission via our real-time data portal, and to date, over 50 SIMB3s have been deployed. Collectively, they have created the world's largest repository of seasonal sea-ice thickness (mass balance) data.
All SIMB3s collect a default suite of time-series data, including ice and snow thickness, air temperature, barometric pressure, and through-ice temperature profile. They can also be equipped with additional sensors to measure solar radiation, seawater conductivity, temperature, and pressure, or many others.
SIMB3 builds on a legacy of engineering, innovation, initially developed at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory spanning back to the 1990's. Since 2015, SIMB3 has been developed at Dartmouth College and since 2017, by Cryosphere Innovation.
If you are interested in purchasing an SIMB3 for your project, reach out and we'll work with you to ensure you get a product that suites your needs.