Problem Statement

Characterizing and predicting terrain characteristics of snow-covered regions is a significant opportunity to support the Army’s readiness to respond to sub-Arctic and Arctic threats. Review of the marketplace and peer-reviewed literature suggests partial solutions may exist among some research units working in snow research, but full solutions tailored to these specific Department of Defense (DOD) requirements do not appear to exist.

Project Objective

The primary objective of this request for proposals is to develop new solutions or advance existing partial solutions to deliver full solutions addressing one or both of the focus areas below.

Requirements

ERDC invites pre-proposals that introduce solutions addressing one or both of the focus areas. Specific requirements for each focus area are elaborated below. To be considered, a pre-proposal must clearly identify whether it is addressing Snow Integrative and Predictive Solutions or Solutions for Snow Operational Field Properties to Support Mobility, or both focus areas (see Focus Areas below for additional details regarding requirements). The pre-proposal should clearly state the nature of intended end state of the solution, specifically: New technology; New process; New method; New application of existing technology, process, or method. 

All potential solutions will be considered against the program requirements and technology readiness levels. Multiple awards may be considered.

Note: Submissions should NOT include confidential or proprietary details.

Focus Areas:

Snow Integrative and Predictive Solutions

ERDC seeks solutions (such as a novel new methodology, etc.) that integrate datasets (direct field observations across large regions of snowpack in Arctic and sub-Arctic environments) into modeling and software platforms and applies machine learning to generate predictive landscape level analyses and enhanced resolution snow properties derived from remote sensing data. In seeking to address this aspect of snow impacts on conducting and sustaining operations in snow covered regions, the military is broadly concerned with capabilities that address:

• Determine the condition of the snow surface and the subsurface including underlying ground conditions
• Provide estimates of snow water equivalent at enhanced resolutions from remote sensing data including passive microwave derived products
• Provide estimates of the engineering properties derived from sensors penetrating snow and ice
• Derive depth-integrated properties; integrate these findings in models and make predictions

Requirements: Proposals should explain how solutions will achieve the following requirements:  

• The solution should integrate datasets (direct field observations across large regions of snowpack in Arctic and sub-Arctic environments) into modeling and software platforms. CRREL can provide example datasets for selected vendors to use in solution development.
• The solutions shall apply machine learning to generate predictive landscape level analyses and enhanced resolution snow properties derived from remote sensing data.
• The solution should be user friendly, so that a range of operators would be able to use the platform to interrogate the model results (i.e., areas of interest and available data should be easily accessible through a GUI or other easily operated system that does not require a specialized technical background to operate). 
• The solution must be non-static, updateable, and predictive.
• The solution shall include guidance for usage, tailoring, updating, applying data-streams, training sets, etc.

Solutions for Snow Operational Field Properties to Support Mobility

RDC seeks solutions that provide techniques to minimize the amount of sensing and flight resources (for airborne collections under 10,000 ft) over cold regions terrain needed to assess avenues of approach on the ground. Relevant terrain conditions and properties include snow conditions, soil freeze/thaw, state of horizontal infrastructure, and candidate surrogates for horizontal infrastructure (e.g., frozen water bodies that can bear military operations). The solutions should also develop remote sensing products quantifying their value added in mobility-related indications, e.g., snow depth and density, soil freeze/thaw, pond ice thickness, etc. In seeking to address this aspect of snow impacts on conducting and sustaining operations in snow covered regions, the military is broadly concerned with capabilities that address:

• Optimize use of resources for wide-area data collection over cold regions from ground, airborne and satellite platforms
• Quantify the value of different sensor modalities in terms of information requirements
• Provide techniques for identifying horizontal infrastructure vulnerabilities and mitigating terrain conditions
• Planning tools and collection management aids

Requirements: Proposals should explain how solutions will achieve the following requirements.

• Provide a solution that uses terrain analysis data, e.g., terrain discretization, climatology, etc. to reduce airborne platform use requirements (flight paths and sorties under 10,000 ft) for missions where operators are estimating surface properties relevant to military operations
• Quantify the value of different sensor modalities in terms of reducing uncertainty in characterizing terrain surface properties
• Provide techniques for identifying horizontal infrastructure vulnerabilities and surrogate terrain features or conditions that mitigate those vulnerabilities
• Provide methods, e.g., planning tools and decision management aids, to optimize collection for sensing technologies and platforms across multiple scales and terrain information requirements