On the accuracy of glacier outlines derived from remote-sensing data

Paul, Frank; Barrand, Nicholas E.; Baumann, Sabine; Berthier, Étienne; Bolch, Tobias; Casey, Kimberly A.; Frey, Holger; Joshi, Srijana; Konovalov, V. G.; Bris, R. Le; Mölg, Nico; Nosenko, G.; Nuth, C.; Pope, Allen; Racoviteanu, A.; Rastner, Philipp; Raup, B. H.; Scharrer, K.; Steffen, S.; Winsvold, Solveig H.

doi:10.3189/2013aog63a296

Cited by 466 publications

(441 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

420

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Glacier outlines derived from remote sensing data at various spatial and temporal resolution are subject to various degrees of uncertainty, as discussed in recent studies (Paul et al, 2013;Racoviteanu et al, 2009). This becomes an important issue in glacier change analysis, where errors from various data sources accumulate at each processing step.…”

Section: Uncertainty Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial patterns in glacier characteristics and area changes from 1962 to 2006 in the Kanchenjunga–Sikkim area, eastern Himalaya

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. This study investigates spatial patterns in glacier characteristics and area changes at decadal scales in the eastern Himalaya -Nepal (Arun and Tamor basins), India (Teesta basin in Sikkim) and parts of China and Bhutan -based on various satellite imagery: Corona KH4 imagery, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Radiometer (ASTER), QuickBird (QB) and WorldView-2 (WV2). We compare and contrast glacier surface area changes over the period of 1962-2000/2006 and their dependency on glacier topography (elevation, slope, aspect, percent debris cover) and climate (solar radiation, precipitation) on the eastern side of the topographic barrier (Sikkim) versus the western side (Nepal).Glacier mapping from 2000 Landsat ASTER yielded 1463 ± 88 km 2 total glacierized area, of which 569 ± 34 km 2 was located in Sikkim and 488 ± 29 km 2 in eastern Nepal. Supraglacial debris covered 11 % of the total glacierized area, and supraglacial lakes covered about 5.8 % of the debris-covered glacier area alone. Glacier area loss (1962 to 2000) was 0.50 ± 0.2 % yr −1 , with little difference between Nepal (0.53 ± 0.2 % yr −1 ) and Sikkim (0.44 ± 0.2 % yr −1 ). Glacier area change was controlled mostly by glacier area, elevation, altitudinal range and, to a smaller extent, slope and aspect. In the Kanchenjunga-Sikkim area, we estimated a glacier area loss of 0.23 ± 0.08 % yr −1 from 1962 to 2006 based on high-resolution imagery. On a glacier-by-glacier basis, clean glaciers exhibit more area loss on average from 1962 to 2006 (34 %) compared to debris-covered glaciers (22 %). Glaciers in this region of the Himalaya are shrinking at similar rates to those reported for the last decades in other parts of the Himalaya, but individual glacier rates of change vary across the study area with respect to local topography, percent debris cover or glacier elevations.

show abstract

Section: Uncertainty Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial patterns in glacier characteristics and area changes from 1962 to 2006 in the Kanchenjunga–Sikkim area, eastern Himalaya

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Uncertainties in the manually mapped snow lines can occur from errors in the image processing, the subjective assessment of the spatial snow line pattern, and the low viewing angle of the cameras over some parts of the glacier. To quantify the uncertainty in the manual snow-line mapping, we apply an accuracy of ±5% of the daily snow-covered glacier area adopted from Paul et al (2013). Paul et al (2013) estimated the accuracy of glacier outlines derived from remote sensing and from manual mapping.…”

Section: Model Evaluation Through Time-lapse Photographymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To quantify the uncertainty in the manual snow-line mapping, we apply an accuracy of ±5% of the daily snow-covered glacier area adopted from Paul et al (2013). Paul et al (2013) estimated the accuracy of glacier outlines derived from remote sensing and from manual mapping. The authors give an uncertainty of 30% of the glacier area for debriscovered glacier parts and 5% for clean ice with sufficient contrast to the surrounding regions.…”

Section: Model Evaluation Through Time-lapse Photographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a Coupled Snow and Energy Balance Model for Zhadang Glacier, Tibetan Plateau, Using Glaciological Measurements and Time-Lapse Photography

Huintjes

Sauter

Schröter³

et al. 2015

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…23 The glaciers in Mt. Karlik are mainly distributed in the rugged mountain regions where mountain shadows are densely distributed.…”

Section: Mountain Shadow Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping changes in the glaciers of the eastern Tienshan Mountains during 1977–2013 using multitemporal remote sensing

Bao

et al. 2014

J. Appl. Remote Sens

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Because it has similar spectral characteristics as glaciers, snow around glaciers is a complicating factor in glacier inventory from satellite images. It is rare to acquire snowless and cloud-free satellite images in perennial snow mountain regions, and, moreover, glaciers are also usually shaded by mountain shadows. Therefore, a monotemporal satellite image can hardly map an intact glacier boundary. An object-oriented image segmentation method is proposed to map glaciers and their changes with multitemporal Landsat imagery. First, a "global-local" iteration segmentation method was used to delineate the snow and ice boundaries with each single phase image. Second, the mountain shadows of multitemporal Landsat images with different sun angles were mapped by methods of terrain analyses, and some parts of the glaciers inside these shadow regions can be identified. Finally, the complete glacier boundaries were restored with multitemporal images, and then these boundaries were intersected to get the minimum glacier extents. The method was tested with multitemporal Landsat images during 1977-2013 in the eastern Tienshan Mountains of Central Asia, and the spatial patterns and temporal process of these glacier changes in the last years were also analyzed. The results showed that the proposed method performs well in mapping glaciers in rugged alpine regions. Combining multiple images in different seasons provides a more effective way of removing disturbing factors during the process of glacier extraction. The total glacier area in the eastern Tienshan Mountains has decreased to 106.83 km 2 in 2013, with a loss of 21.5% since 1977, and the rate of glacier shrinkage accelerates in recent decades. The relationship between glacier recession and river runoffs was also analyzed, and the results showed that small glaciers whose areas are about 1.1 km 2 provide less runoff than those larger glaciers with about 2.5 km 2 . © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

show abstract

On the accuracy of glacier outlines derived from remote-sensing data

Cited by 466 publications

References 19 publications

Spatial patterns in glacier characteristics and area changes from 1962 to 2006 in the Kanchenjunga–Sikkim area, eastern Himalaya

Spatial patterns in glacier characteristics and area changes from 1962 to 2006 in the Kanchenjunga–Sikkim area, eastern Himalaya

Evaluation of a Coupled Snow and Energy Balance Model for Zhadang Glacier, Tibetan Plateau, Using Glaciological Measurements and Time-Lapse Photography

Mapping changes in the glaciers of the eastern Tienshan Mountains during 1977–2013 using multitemporal remote sensing

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About