With regard to incidental loss of connectivity, the environment in which the devices operate can cause breakdowns in communication. As an example, in remote sensing systems the weather can cause communications links to become unavailable. In the Glacsweb network, the winter snowfall often buries the equipment and prevents surface radio
communication and in the summer, increased water levels within the ice can interrupt probe communications1. These issues are difficult to resolve and must be anticipated as a part of the deployment challenges.