Photogrammetric measurement of spatial and temporal high-resolution motion fields of glaciers

Project titles

• Photogrammetric tracking and analysis of glacier motion (DFG, completed)
• Determination and analysis of high resolution motion fields of glacier fronts in the Disko Bay region in West Greenland as a contribution to the IPY-project MARGINS (DFG, completed)
• Photogrammetric determinationof glacier motion fields at Glaciar San Rafael (BMBF/ FONDECYT, completed)

Funding

• German Research Foundation (DFG)

• Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

• Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT)

Motivation

Greenland

For numerous Greenlandic glaciers a significant increase of their flow velocity could be observed since the turn of the millennium. Thus, the projects objective was to determine the current motion behaviour of the fastest glaciers in the Disko Bay region in West Greenland using photogrammetric measurement methods. Thereby, the main focus was on measurements at Jakobshavn Isbræ where dramatic changes could be observed since 2003. Furthermore, velocity fields of the glaciers Eqip Sermia, Støre Qarajaq, Sermeq Avangnardleq and Sermeq Kujatdleq should be determined and analysed.

Patagonia

The outlet glaciers of the Patagonian ice fields showed significant changes in the past two decades as well. The methods developed for the measurement of the fast-flowing glaciers in Greenland should be improved, adapted and applied to the slower Patagonian glaciers as part of various projects.

Measurement campaigns

Data Acquisition and Processing

• Development of appropriate concepts for the measurement of glacier motion via monocular image sequences from stationary cameras and via point cloud sequences recorded with a terrestrial laser scanner.
• Record of measurement data with high temporal resolution for the front areas of outlet glaciers which form the basis for the determination of motion vector fields.
• Development of suitable methods for processing the image and point cloud sequences in order to determine spatial and temporal high-resolution motion vector fields, and their implementation in a software.
• Preparation and structuring of the measurement data and the development of workflows for the particular evaluation processes.
• Analysis of the motion vector fields with regard to various glaciological questions.

Results

Greenland

• Velocity fields with high spatial resolution for the terminus of five fast-flowing glaciers in West Greenland
• Location of the grounding line derived from tide-induced vertical movements of the Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier tongue (Dietrich et. al., 2007)
• Migration of the grounding line of the Jakobshavn Isbræ for the period 2004-2010 (Rosenau et. al., 2013)
• Motion ​​behavior of the Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier front during calving events
  (Rosenau et. al., 2013)

Patagonia

• Determination of velocity fields at Glaciar San Rafael (Maas et. al., 2013)

• Further development of the image sequence analysis method in terms of robustness and minimizing of measuring equipment as well as the determination of velocity fields of Glaciar Grey as an aspect of the project "Monitoring of environmental processes in Patagonia using photogrammetric and remote sensing techniques" (Schwalbe et. al., 2016a)

• Localization and visualization of subglacial drainage tunnels at the Glaciar Colonia during glacier lake outbursts of Lago Cachet II as an aspect of the project "Photogrammetric concepts of virtual GLOF-monitoring level" (Schwalbe et. al., 2016b)

Related PubliCations

Project Partners

The project was conducted in cooperation with the Institute of Planetary Geodesy, Chair of Geodetic Earth System Research (GESF), Technischen Universität Dresden.

• Prof. (i.R.) Dr.-Ing. habil. Reinhard (senior professor GESF)
• Dr.-Ing. Ralf Rosenau (once GESF)

Furthermore, Michael Bäßler, Heiko Ewert, Axel Rülke and Danilo Schneider contributed to the project.

Contact

• Prof. Dr. habil. Hans-Gerd Maas (project management)
• Dr.-Ing. Ellen Schwalbe (project work)