An approach to derive regional snow lines and glacier mass change from MODIS imagery, western North America

Shea, J. M.; Menounos, Brian; Moore, R. D.; Tennant, C.

doi:10.5194/tc-7-667-2013

Cited by 49 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…Other studies quantified the annual glacier-wide SMB by combining the altitude of end-of-summer snow line with the glacier hypsography and the SMB gradients above and below the ELA [24], or with a temperature-index model [25]. The method proposed by Shea et al [24] depends on the availability of the SMB gradients in the ablation and accumulation zones, and uncertainties associated with these gradients and their use to compute the glacier-wide SMB can lead to significant errors. On the other hand, the method proposed by Tawde et al [25] uses meteorological data and therefore depends on their availability in the vicinity of the studied glaciers.…”

Section: Principles and History Of The Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, as mentioned earlier, the method of mapping the end-of-summer snow line can be based on different sources, from very high resolution aerial photographs (e.g., [15,16] and, more recently, [22]) to medium resolution satellite images like MODIS data (e.g., [24,57,58]) when the studied ice bodies are wide (i.e., hundreds to thousands of km 2 ).…”

Section: Use Of Other Imagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Annual and Seasonal Glacier-Wide Surface Mass Balance Quantified from Changes in Glacier Surface State: A Review on Existing Methods Using Optical Satellite Imagery

et al. 2017

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Glaciers are one of the terrestrial essential climate variables (ECVs) as they respond very sensitively to climate change. A key driver of their response is the glacier surface mass balance that is typically derived from field measurements. It deserves to be quantified over long time scales to better understand the accumulation and ablation processes at the glacier surface and their relationships with inter-annual changes in meteorological conditions and long-term climate changes. Glaciers with in situ monitoring of surface mass balance are scarce at the global scale, and satellite remote sensing provides a powerful tool to increase the number of monitored glaciers. In this study, we present a review of three optical remote sensing methods developed to quantify seasonal and annual glacier surface mass balances. These methodologies rely on the multitemporal monitoring of the end-of-summer snow line for the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) method, the annual cycle of glacier surface albedo for the albedo method and the mapping of the regional snow cover at the seasonal scale for the snow-map method. Together with a presentation of each method, an application is illustrated. The ELA method shows promising results to quantify annual surface mass balance and to reconstruct multi-decadal time series. The other two methods currently need a calibration on the basis of existing in situ data; however, a generalization of these methods (without calibration) could be achieved. The two latter methods show satisfying results at the annual and seasonal scales, particularly for the summer surface mass balance in the case of the albedo method and for the winter surface mass balance in the case of the snow-map method. The limits of each method (e.g., cloud coverage, debris-covered glaciers, monsoon-regime and cold glaciers), their complementarities and the future challenges (e.g., automating of the satellite images processing, generalization of the methods needing calibration) are also discussed.

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Section: Principles and History Of The Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Use Of Other Imagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual and Seasonal Glacier-Wide Surface Mass Balance Quantified from Changes in Glacier Surface State: A Review on Existing Methods Using Optical Satellite Imagery

et al. 2017

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“…Satellite data have been used to estimate the ELA by this approximation in remote regions and where mass balance is not measured (e.g. Barcaza et al, 2009;Jiskoot et al, 2009;Mathieu et al, 2009;Mernild et al, 2013;Rabatel et al, 2013;Shea et al, 2013). Since limited mass balance measurements exist for the outlet glaciers of this study (Fig.…”

Section: The Snowline Altitude Derived From Modis Imagery and The Lidmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the southeast Vatnajökull ice cap, Iceland, between ~ 1890 and 2010

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Area and volume changes and the average geodetic mass balance of the non-surging outlet glaciers of the southeast Vatnajökull ice cap, Iceland, during different time periods between ∼ 1890 and 2010, are derived from a multi-temporal glacier inventory. A series of digital elevation models (DEMs) (∼ 1890, 1904, 1936, 1945, 1989, 2002, 2010) are compiled from glacial geomorphological features, historical photographs, maps, aerial images, DGPS measurements and a lidar survey. Given the mapped basal topography, we estimate volume changes since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) ∼ 1890. The variable volume loss of the outlets to similar climate forcing is related to their different hypsometry, basal topography, and the presence of proglacial lakes. In the post-LIA period, the glacierized area decreased by 164 km 2 (or from 1014 to 851 km 2 ) and the glaciers had lost 10-30 % of their ∼ 1890 area by 2010 (anywhere from 3 to 36 km 2 ). The glacier surface lowered by 150-270 m near the terminus and the outlet glaciers collectively lost 60 ± 8 km 3 of ice, which is equivalent to 0.15 ± 0.02 mm of sea-level rise. The volume loss of individual glaciers was in the range of 15-50 %, corresponding to a geodetic mass balance between −0.70 and −0.32 m w.e. a −1 . The annual rate of mass change during the post-LIA period was most negative in 2002-2010, on average −1.34 ± 0.12 m w.e. a −1 , which is among the most negative mass balance values recorded worldwide in the early 21st century.

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“…The equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) and minimum mean bi-hemispherical broadband albedo (referred to hereafter as albedo) of a glacier have the potential to be good proxies of the annual mass balance in some regions (e.g., Dumont et al, 2012;Rabatel et al, 2013;Shea et al, 2013). On temperate glaciers, the average albedo of a whole glacier surface reaches a minimum at the end of the ablation season, when the elevation of the transient snow line elevation reaches a maximum (Rabatel et al, 2005;Dumont et al, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal changes in surface albedo of Himalayan glaciers from MODIS data and links with the annual mass balance

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Few glaciological field data are available on glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalayan (HKH) region, and remote sensing data are thus critical for glacier studies in this region. The main objectives of this study are to document, using satellite images, the seasonal changes of surface albedo for two Himalayan glaciers, Chhota Shigri Glacier (Himachal Pradesh, India) and Mera Glacier (Everest region, Nepal), and to reconstruct the annual mass balance of these glaciers based on the albedo data. Albedo is retrieved from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images, and evaluated using ground based measurements. At both sites, we find high coefficients of determination between annual minimum albedo averaged over the glacier (AMAAG) and glacier-wide annual mass balance (B a ) measured with the glaciological method (R 2 = 0.75). At Chhota Shigri Glacier, the relation between AMAAG found at the end of the ablation season and B a suggests that AMAAG can be used as a proxy for the maximum snow line altitude or equilibrium line altitude (ELA) on winteraccumulation-type glaciers in the Himalayas. However, for the summer-accumulation-type Mera Glacier, our approach relied on the hypothesis that ELA information is preserved during the monsoon. At Mera Glacier, cloud obscuration and snow accumulation limits the detection of albedo during the monsoon, but snow redistribution and sublimation in the post-monsoon period allows for the calculation of AMAAG. Reconstructed B a at Chhota Shigri Glacier agrees with mass balances previously reconstructed using a positive degreeday method. Reconstructed B a at Mera Glacier is affected by heavy cloud cover during the monsoon, which systematically limited our ability to observe AMAAG at the end of the melting period. In addition, the relation between AMAAG and B a is constrained over a shorter time period for Mera Glacier (6 years) than for Chhota Shigri Glacier (11 years). Thus the mass balance reconstruction is less robust for Mera Glacier than for Chhota Shigri Glacier. However our method shows promising results and may be used to reconstruct the annual mass balance of glaciers with contrasted seasonal cycles in the western part of the HKH mountain range since the early 2000s when MODIS images became available.

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An approach to derive regional snow lines and glacier mass change from MODIS imagery, western North America

Cited by 49 publications

References 48 publications

Annual and Seasonal Glacier-Wide Surface Mass Balance Quantified from Changes in Glacier Surface State: A Review on Existing Methods Using Optical Satellite Imagery

Annual and Seasonal Glacier-Wide Surface Mass Balance Quantified from Changes in Glacier Surface State: A Review on Existing Methods Using Optical Satellite Imagery

Changes in the southeast Vatnajökull ice cap, Iceland, between ~ 1890 and 2010

Seasonal changes in surface albedo of Himalayan glaciers from MODIS data and links with the annual mass balance

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