Introduction

The Cryologger Ice Tracking Beacon (ITB) is a low-cost, open-source GNSS platform designed to monitor the drift of icebergs and ice islands in the Canadian Arctic. Built with affordable commercial off-the-shelf components and custom firmware, it provides a reliable, scalable alternative to commercial systems—making real-time iceberg tracking more accessible for researchers, institutions, and maritime operators.

Why Track Icebergs?

Icebergs and ice islands present a serious hazard to navigation and offshore operations in Arctic waters. As vessel traffic and industrial activity increase in northern regions, the need for accurate iceberg trajectory data has become more urgent. Yet the cost of commercial satellite tracking devices often limits the number of units deployed, reducing the spatial and temporal resolution of available data.

The Cryologger ITB addresses this challenge by offering an open, customizable, and field-tested solution that lowers the barrier to deployment. It enables researchers to track multiple targets simultaneously and collect high-resolution data in support of ice hazard monitoring, oceanographic research, and environmental risk assessment.

Field Deployments

The ITB was first deployed from the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen in 2018. Since then, over 35 beacons have been successfully deployed on icebergs and ice islands across the Canadian Arctic. These deployments have been made possible through the support of Amundsen Science and collaborations with academic and governmental partners.

Key Features

• Global Coverage using the Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD) network
• Compact and Lightweight, designed for easy mounting on ice
• Open Source Hardware and Firmware, licensed under GPLv3
• Low Power Operation (suitable for 2–4 year deployments)
• Integrated IMU and Environmental Sensors (e.g. pitch, roll, temperature)
• Web Dashboard Support for real-time monitoring and data access

Open Access and Customization

The system is designed to be easily modified and extended to meet specific research needs. Community contributions and new use cases are welcome.

All design files, build instructions, source code, and deployment tools are openly available on the Cryologger GitHub repository.