http://www.glims.org/glacierdata/data/lit_ref_files/bolch2010.pdf

Landsat-based inventory of glaciers in western Canada, 1985-2005

Remote sensing of landslides: An analysis of the potential contribution to geo-spatial systems for hazard assessment in mountainous environments

High mountains represent one of the most dynamic environments on earth. Monitoring their terrain changes is necessary to understand mass-transport systems, to detect related environmental variability, and to assess natural hazards. Here, we apply standard software to automatically generate digital elevation models (DEM) from aerial photography and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite stereo imagery. By comparison to a photogrammetrically derived DEM, an accuracy of ±60 m RMS of the ASTER DEM was found for rough high-mountain topography, and ±18 m RMS for moderately mountainous terrain. Differences between multi-temporal DEMs are used to determine vertical terrain changes. Horizontal movements are computed from multi-temporal orthoimages. The techniques are applied for three case studies. (1) The flow-field of Tasman glacier, New Zealand, as measured from ASTER data, showed glacier speeds of up to 250 m per year and a surprising minimum speed in the middle of the glacier. (2) The velocity-field of creeping mountain permafrost in Val Muragl, Swiss Alps, with speeds of up to 0.5 m per year was determined with high resolution from aerial stereo imagery and provided new insights in the spatial coherence of permafrost creep. (3) Deformations of up to 0.1 m per year on a large landslide near Aletsch glacier, Swiss Alps, could be detected. As a rule of thumb, we estimate the achieved accuracy for elevation changes and horizontal displacements to approximate the size of one image pixel, i.e. 15 m for ASTER and 0.2–0.3 m for the here-used aerial photography.

Monitoring high-mountain terrain deformation from repeated air- and spaceborne optical data: examples using digital aerial imagery and ASTER data

In this study, we present a first regional assessment of glacial lake distribution and evolution in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). Seven sites have been selected between Bhutan and Afghanistan, to capture the climatic variability along the 2000-km long mountain range. For each site, glacial lakes have been mapped with LANDSAT satellite imagery acquired in 1990, 2000 and 2009, using an automatic classification. In the East (India, Nepal and Bhutan), glacial lakes are bigger and more numerous than in the West (Pakistan, Afghanistan), and have grown continuously between 1990 and 2009 by 20% to 65%. On the other hand, during the same period, the glacial lake coverage has shrunk in the Hindu Kush (−50%) and the Karakorum (−30%). This east/west pattern of lake changes seems in agreement with sparse glaciological measurements that suggest less (or even no) ice loss in the western part of the HKH.

/pdf/contrasted-evolution-of-glacial-lakes-along-the-hindu-kush-4o3ne76dwb.pdf

Contrasted evolution of glacial lakes along the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountain range between 1990 and 2009

Multispectral imaging contributions to global land ice measurements from space

Glacier lakes are a common phenomenon in high mountain areas. Outbursts from glacier lakes have repeatedly caused the loss of human lives as well as severe damage to local infrastructure. In severa...

Remote sensing based assessment of hazards from glacier lake outbursts: a case study in the Swiss Alps

Glacier lakes are a common phenomenon in high mountain areas. Outbursts from glacier lakes have repeat- edly caused the loss of human lives as well as severe damage to local infrastructure. In several high mountain ranges around the world, a grave uncertainty about the hazard potential of glacier lakes still exists, especially with respect to the effects of accelerating rates of glacier retreat as a consequence of atmospheric warming. Area-wide detection and modeling of glacier lake hazard potentials is, therefore, a major challenge. In this study, an approach integrating three scale levels allows for the progressive focus on critical glacier lakes. Remote sensing methods for application in glacier lake hazard assessment are presented, and include channel indexing, data fusion, and change detection. Each method matches the requirements of a certain scale level. For estimating potential disaster amplitudes, assessments must be made of maximum discharge and runout distance of outbursts floods and debris flows. Existing empirical relations are evaluated and complementary ones as derived from available data are proposed. Tests with observations from a recent outburst event from a moraine-dammed lake in the Swiss Alps show the basic applicability of the proposed techniques and the usefulness of empirical relations for first hazard assessments. In particular, the observed runout distance of the debris flow resulting from the outburst does not exceed the empirically estimated maximum runout distance. A list of decision criteria and related remote sensing techniques are discussed in conclusion. Such a list is an essential tool for evaluating the hazard potential of a lake. A systematic application of remote sensing based methods for glacier lake hazard assessment is recommended.

Philippe Teysseire

Papers

Remote sensing based assessment of hazards from glacier lake outbursts: a case study in the Swiss Alps

Remote sensing based assessment of hazards from glacier lake outbursts: a case study in the