scholarly journals Mapping tide-water glacier dynamics in East Greenland using Landsat data

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (139) ◽  
pp. 584-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Dwyer

AbstractLandsat multispectral scanner and thematic mapper images were co-registered For the Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord region in East Greenland and were used to map glacier drainage-basin areas, changes in the positions of tide-water glacier termini and to estimate surface velocities of the larger tide-water glaciers. Statistics were compiled to document distance and area changes to glacier termini. The methodologies developed in this study are broadly applicable to the investigation of tide-water glaciers in other areas. The number of images available for consecutive years and the accuracy with which images are co-registered are key factors that influence the degree to which regional glacier dynamics can be characterized using remotely sensed data.Three domains of glacier state were interpreted: net increase in terminus area in the southern part of the study area, net loss of terminus area for glaciers in upper Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord and a slight loss of glacier terminus area northward from Ryberg Fjord. Local increases in the concentrations of drifting icebergs in the fjords coincide with the observed extension of glacier termini positions Ice-surface velocity estimates were derived for several glaciers using automated image cross-correlation techniques The velocity determined for Kangerdlugssuaq Gletscher is approximately 5.0 km a−1 and that for Kong Christian IV Gletscher is 0.9 km a−1. The continuous presence of icebergs and brash ice in front of these glaciers indicates sustained rates of ice-front calving.

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (139) ◽  
pp. 584-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Dwyer

AbstractLandsat multispectral scanner and thematic mapper images were co-registered For the Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord region in East Greenland and were used to map glacier drainage-basin areas, changes in the positions of tide-water glacier termini and to estimate surface velocities of the larger tide-water glaciers. Statistics were compiled to document distance and area changes to glacier termini. The methodologies developed in this study are broadly applicable to the investigation of tide-water glaciers in other areas. The number of images available for consecutive years and the accuracy with which images are co-registered are key factors that influence the degree to which regional glacier dynamics can be characterized using remotely sensed data.Three domains of glacier state were interpreted: net increase in terminus area in the southern part of the study area, net loss of terminus area for glaciers in upper Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord and a slight loss of glacier terminus area northward from Ryberg Fjord. Local increases in the concentrations of drifting icebergs in the fjords coincide with the observed extension of glacier termini positions Ice-surface velocity estimates were derived for several glaciers using automated image cross-correlation techniques The velocity determined for Kangerdlugssuaq Gletscher is approximately 5.0 km a−1and that for Kong Christian IV Gletscher is 0.9 km a−1. The continuous presence of icebergs and brash ice in front of these glaciers indicates sustained rates of ice-front calving.


2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (63) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Turrin ◽  
Richard R. Forster ◽  
Chris Larsen ◽  
Jeanne Sauber

AbstractBering Glacier, Alaska, USA, has a ∼20 year surge cycle, with its most recent surge reaching the terminus in 2011. To study this most recent activity a time series of ice velocity maps was produced by applying optical feature-tracking methods to Landsat-7 ETM+ imagery spanning 2001-11. The velocity maps show a yearly increase in ice surface velocity associated with the down-glacier movement of a surge front. In 2008/09 the maximum ice surface velocity was 1.5 ±0.017 km a-1 in the mid-ablation zone, which decreased to 1.2 ±0.015 km a-1 in 2009/10 in the lower ablation zone, and then increased to nearly 4.4 ± 0.03 km a-1 in summer 2011 when the surge front reached the glacier terminus. The surge front propagated down-glacier as a kinematic wave at an average rate of 4.4 ±2.0 km a-1 between September 2002 and April 2009, then accelerated to 13.9 ± 2.0 km a-1 as it entered the piedmont lobe between April 2009 and September 2010. The wave seems to have initiated near the confluence of Bering Glacier and Bagley Ice Valley as early as 2001, and the surge was triggered in 2008 further down-glacier in the mid-ablation zone after the wave passed an ice reservoir area.


1989 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian A. Dowdeswell ◽  
David J. Drewry

Glaciological measurements from Austfonna on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, are needed as a prerequisite to mathematical modelling of ice-mass dynamics. Several upper and lower boundary conditions are set out in detail for a 670 km2 drainage basin (Basin 5) and are generalized to the whole ice cap where possible. The ice surface and bed topography are mapped for Basin 5. 30% of the basin lies below sea-level. Bed elevations range from -100 m to over 300 m, and maximum ice thickness is >500 m. A 21 km long trilateral network of stakes provides velocity and strain-rate data. Maximum ice-surface velocity is 47 m a−1 and maximum strain-rate is 0.64 × 10−2 a−1. Snow-line migration with time is mapped from digital Landsat MSS data, and mass-balance estimates are used to calculate balance velocities. At the equilibrium line, about 300–350 m in elevation, balance velocity and observed ice-surface velocity are comparable, indicating that the basin is approximately in balance. A first approximation is given for the rate of iceberg calving from the tide-water basin margins. Enhanced Landsat imagery also shows that turbid melt-water plumes of subglacial origin flow from the terminal ice cliffs, indicating that at least parts of the ice-cap margin are at the melting point. The margins of Basin 5, grounded below present sea-level, are likely to be underlain by deformable sediments, but inland the nature of the substrate is unknown.


2003 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Luckman ◽  
Tavi Murray ◽  
Hester Jiskoot ◽  
Hamish Pritchard ◽  
Tazio Strozzi

AbstractFeature tracking, or patch intensity cross-correlation, is used to derive two-dimensional ice-surface velocity fields from 1day and 35 day repeat-pass European Remote-sensing Satellite (ERS) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data covering a 500 km by 500 km area of central East Greenland. Over regions of fast ice flow, 35 day tracking yields only a slightly lower density of velocity measurements than 1day tracking, and both are broadly in agreement about the spatial pattern of ice velocity except at the glacier termini where tidal effects may dominate. This study suggests that SAR feature tracking may be used to routinely monitor ice-discharge velocities on a regional basis and thereby inform studies of regional mass balance.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Seehaus ◽  
Alison Cook ◽  
Aline B. Silva ◽  
Matthias H. Braun

Abstract. The climatic conditions along the northern Antarctic Peninsula have shown significant changes within the last 50 years. Most studies have focused on the glaciers affected by the disintegration of the ice shelves along the east coast. However, temporally and spatially detailed observations of the changes in ice dynamics along both the east and west coastlines are missing. Temporal trends of glacier area (1985–2015) and ice surface velocity (1992–2014) changes are derived from a broad multi-mission remote sensing database for 74 glacier basins on the northern Antarctic Peninsula (


1989 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian A. Dowdeswell ◽  
David J. Drewry

Glaciological measurements from Austfonna on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, are needed as a prerequisite to mathematical modelling of ice-mass dynamics. Several upper and lower boundary conditions are set out in detail for a 670 km2drainage basin (Basin 5) and are generalized to the whole ice cap where possible. The ice surface and bed topography are mapped for Basin 5. 30% of the basin lies below sea-level. Bed elevations range from -100 m to over 300 m, and maximum ice thickness is >500 m. A 21 km long trilateral network of stakes provides velocity and strain-rate data. Maximum ice-surface velocity is 47 m a−1and maximum strain-rate is 0.64 × 10−2a−1. Snow-line migration with time is mapped from digital Landsat MSS data, and mass-balance estimates are used to calculate balance velocities. At the equilibrium line, about 300–350 m in elevation, balance velocity and observed ice-surface velocity are comparable, indicating that the basin is approximately in balance. A first approximation is given for the rate of iceberg calving from the tide-water basin margins. Enhanced Landsat imagery also shows that turbid melt-water plumes of subglacial origin flow from the terminal ice cliffs, indicating that at least parts of the ice-cap margin are at the melting point. The margins of Basin 5, grounded below present sea-level, are likely to be underlain by deformable sediments, but inland the nature of the substrate is unknown.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (250) ◽  
pp. 321-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
REBECCA DELL ◽  
RACHEL CARR ◽  
EMRYS PHILLIPS ◽  
ANDREW J. RUSSELL

ABSTRACTOver recent decades, the number of outlet glaciers terminating in lakes in Iceland has increased in line with climate warming. The mass-balance changes of these lake-terminating outlet glaciers are sensitive to rising air temperatures, due to altered glacier dynamics and increased surface melt. This study aims to better understand the relationship between proglacial lake development, climate, glacier dynamics and glacier structure at Fjallsjökull, a large, lake-terminating outlet glacier in south-east Iceland. We used satellite imagery to map glacier terminus position and lake extent between 1973 and 2016, and a combination of aerial and satellite imagery to map the structural architecture of the glacier's terminus in 1982, 1994 and 2011. The temporal evolution of ice surface velocities between 1990 and 2018 was calculated using feature tracking. Statistically significant increases in the rate of terminus retreat and lake expansion were identified in 2001, 2009 and 2011. Our surface velocity and structural datasets revealed the development of localised flow ‘corridors’ over time, which conveyed relatively faster flow towards the glacier's terminus. We attribute the overall changes in dynamics and structural architecture at Fjallsjökull to rising air temperatures, but argue that the spatial complexities are driven by glacier specific factors, such as basal topography.


Author(s):  
R. Sahu ◽  
R. D. Gupta

Abstract. In glacier dynamics, surface velocity of glacier is an important parameter to understand the behaviour of glacier in absence of mass balance and long-term glacier area change information. In present study, surface velocity of Samudra Tapu Glacier, India is estimated using freely available Landsat-8 OLI (PAN) images during 2013–2017. To estimate surface velocity, open source COSI-Corr tool is used which is based on cross-correlation algorithm. Maximum annual surface velocity estimated is 55.68 ± 4.01 m/year during 2015–2016 while the minimum surface velocity being 44.99 ± 4.67 m/year in 2016–2017. The average annual velocity during 2013–2017 was 50.51 ± 4.49 m/year which is higher than other glaciers in Chandra basin. The variation in annual surface velocity is analysed which not only depends on mass loss but also on temperature, pressure and internal drainage. Further, as one moves opposite to glacier terminus, the surface velocity increases with the increase in glacier elevation and slope. The higher surface velocity can be attributed to the fact that Samudra Tapu is a top-heavy glacier based on HI index analysis having larger accumulation area along with high glacier ice-thickness.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Iben Koldtoft ◽  
Aslak Grinsted ◽  
Bo M. Vinther ◽  
Christine S. Hvidberg

Abstract To assess the amount of ice volume stored in glaciers or ice caps, a method to estimate ice thickness distribution is required for glaciers where no direct observations are available. In this study, we use an existing inverse method to estimate the bedrock topography and ice thickness of the Renland Ice Cap, East Greenland, using satellite-based observations of the surface topography. The inverse approach involves a procedure in which an ice dynamical model is used to build-up an ice cap in steady state with climate forcing from a regional climate model, and the bedrock is iteratively adjusted until the modelled and observed surface topography match. We validate our model results against information from airborne radar data and satellite observed surface velocity, and we find that the inferred ice thickness and thereby the stored total volume of the ice cap is sensitive to the assumed ice softness and basal slipperiness. The best basal model parameters for the Renland Ice Cap are determined and the best estimated total ice volume of 384 km3 is found. The Renland Ice Cap is particularly interesting because of its location at a high elevation plateau and hence assumed low sensitivity to climate change.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 911-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. F. Glasser ◽  
S. J. A. Jennings ◽  
M. J. Hambrey ◽  
B. Hubbard

Abstract. Continent-wide mapping of longitudinal ice-surface structures on the Antarctic Ice Sheet reveals that they originate in the interior of the ice sheet and are arranged in arborescent networks fed by multiple tributaries. Longitudinal ice-surface structures can be traced continuously down-ice for distances of up to 1200 km. They are co-located with fast-flowing glaciers and ice streams that are dominated by basal sliding rates above tens of m yr-1 and are strongly guided by subglacial topography. Longitudinal ice-surface structures dominate regions of converging flow, where ice flow is subject to non-coaxial strain and simple shear. Associating these structures with the AIS' surface velocity field reveals (i) ice residence times of ~ 2500 to 18 500 years, and (ii) undeformed flow-line sets for all major flow units analysed except the Kamb Ice Stream and the Institute and Möller Ice Stream areas. Although it is unclear how long it takes for these features to form and decay, we infer that the major ice-flow and ice-velocity configuration of the ice sheet may have remained largely unchanged for several thousand years, and possibly even since the end of the last glacial cycle. This conclusion has implications for our understanding of the long-term landscape evolution of Antarctica, including large-scale patterns of glacial erosion and deposition.


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