Detecting of Cave Floor Ice Dynamics based on Selective Cloud-to-Cloud Approach

Abstract

Abstract. Ice caves can be considered as an indicator of the long-term changes in the landscape. Dynamics in ice volume in the caves are common throughout the year, but the inter-seasonal comparison of ice dynamics indicates a change in the hydrological-climatic regime of the landscape. However, evaluating cave ice volume changes is a challenging task that requires continuous monitoring based on detailed mapping. Nowadays, laser scanning technology is used for cryomorphology mapping to record a status of the ice at an ultra-high resolution. In order to evaluate the dynamics of cave ice, it is necessary to place individual measurements in an unified coordinate system. In the presented paper, we propose a selective cloud-to-cloud approach that addresses the issue of registration of single scan missions into unified coordinate system. We present the results of the ice dynamics monitoring in the Silická ľadnica cave situated in the Slovak Karst, which started in summer of 2016. Based on the results we can conclude that the change in ice volume during the year is continuous and we can observe repeated processes of degradation and ice formation in the cave. Presented analysis of the inter-seasonal dynamics of the ice volume demonstrates that there has been a significant decrement of ice in the monitored period.