http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=4462

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Good light readinghttp//earthobservatory.nasa.g
ov/Features/GlobalLandSurvey/Additional image
data sourceSPOTCanadahttp//geobase.ca
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Remote Sensing of Glaciers
Landsat Images (since 1972) photos gt
Little Ice Age 1850 Most glaciers are remote .
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Remote sensing application of studying glaciers
Satellite Sensor Wavelengths Spatial resolution Glaciological application
Landsat TM ETM Visible, Infrared 15 m - 30 m Terminus and area mapping spectral characteristics of snow and ice
Terra ASTER Visible, Infrared 15 m - 30 m Terminus and area mapping DEM for elevation change monitoring
SPOT PanXS Visible,NIR 5 m - 20 m Terminus and area mapping
IRS PanLISS Visible, NIR 5 m - 72 m Terminus and area mapping
ERS SAR Microwave 30 m Terminus and area mapping surface velocity estimation monitoring elevation change
Radarsat SAR Microwave 8 m - 100 m Terminus and area mapping surface velocity estimation monitoring elevation change
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Castle Glacier (near McBride)
1 km
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These images from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI)
on NASAs Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite show
Jakobshavn Glacier in 2001 and 2010.
http//earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id
44625
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Remote Sensing of Glaciers

• Image processing can be used to
• Extract glacier extents (compare with map
  vectors)
• b. Identify surface characteristics (e.g.
  accumulation-ablation)
• c. Volume loss from DEMs
• d. Animation image series
• e. Glacier velocity 

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Edziza extents from NTDB 66, TRIM 85, Landsat
2000
5 km
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Spectral characteristics of snow and ice
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The spectral curve explains why glaciers look
blue-green on a 5-4-3 composite   (why?) .. and
enables distinguishing snow/ice from clouds
(why?)
http//asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery-detail.asp?na
meAletsch
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2. Image classification or thresholding  Accumula
tion area (snow) Ablation (ice) ... and firn
(wet snow)
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1 Mapping of Glaciers
Challenges 1 Clouds 2 Late lying snow 3
Internal rocks 4 Pro-glacial lakes 5
Debris-cover 6 Ice divides
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• 3. Thickness loss and volume estimates from DEMs
  Klinaklini Glacier
• comparing subtracting temporal DEMs gives an
  estimate of depth lost

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4. Animation series Klinaklini Glacier
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Scud Glacier (2002)
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Scud Glacier (2003)
0.5 km
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5. Glacier velocity Klinaklini Glacier Annual
movement ranges from 30 500 m / year mostly in
summer) Length of vector proportional to change
between sequential Images Oct 2001/Sep 2002
Uses ENVI COSI-CORR
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Global Change monitoring
Minimum arctic ice cover Sept 2011 (yellow line
median 1980-2000) Remotely sensed imagery is
suitable for monitoring events and changes, with
regular orbits
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Changes in snowmelt, Greenland
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2010 tied with 2005 as the warmest year since
global records began in 1880
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Global warming
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Robson Glacier 1908-2004
1911-2010
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Illecillewaet Glacier, Glacier NP
1898
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• Kilimanjaro 1993 and 2000 ice predicted to
  disappear 2010
• Causes ?
• Global warming
• b. Lower precipitation
• c. Intensified land use
• d. Greater impact of more people

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TERRA satellite 1999
Includes two sensors MODIS and ASTER MODIS-
bands and applications (250 / 500 /
1000m) http//modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/specificat
ions.php MODIS- sensing for global change
research http//glcf.umiacs.umd.edu/library/pdf/
ieeetgrs36_p1228.pdf
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Three Gorges Dam, 2001-2003 http//asterweb.jpl.na
sa.gov/gallery-detail.asp?nameYangtzee2
ASTER Land use http//asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gall
ery.asp?catid50
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Urban growth Fort Worth 1974-1989-2003
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Deforestation, Brazil 1986-2000
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Cranbrook Hill 2003 / 2006 Mountain Pine Beetle
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Drought Lake Chad 1972-1987-2002
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August 2009
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Climate change Glacier melt - lake dam
collapse
Huarez, Peru A chunk of glacier was threatening
to fall into an Andean lake and cause major
flooding in a Peruvian city of 60,000. If the
piece breaks off, ensuing floods would take 15
minutes to reach the city. In 1941, the lake
overflowed and caused massive destruction,
killing 7,000 people.
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Glacier retreat Mt. Robson 1923-2005
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Central Coast Mountains, Landsat September 2003
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Central Coast Mountains, Landsat August 2006
100 m retreat Over 3 years
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Salmon Glacier area (Stewart)
230 0
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CanVec (NTDB) image 1965 Andrei and Forrest Kerr
Glaciers
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BC provincial TRIM mapping 1982
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Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 1999
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Aster GDEM2000 -2008
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3D Visualisation of past and future
changecreated from air photos, images and mapping
Glaciers and vegetation Glacier National Park
(Montana)  Animation http//www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/
files/norock/research/glacier_animation.gif