Using thermal UAV imagery to model distributed debris thicknesses and sub-debris melt rates on debris-covered glaciers

Bisset, Rosie R.; Nienow, Peter; Goldberg, David M.; Wigmore, Oliver; Loayza‐Muro, Raúl; Wadham, Jemma L.; Macdonald, Moya L.; Bingham, Robert G.

doi:10.1017/jog.2022.116

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 46 publications

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“…So far, the estimation of debris thickness from high-resolution thermal data was shown in a limited number of studies [43,44,94]. The creation of high-resolution and spatially distributed debris thicknesses maps allows one to overcome the issue of the mixed pixel effect, often occurring when using satellite data to estimate surface temperature distribution due to their low spatial resolution (ranging from 60 100 m pixel size).…”

Section: Opportunities Of Drone-derived Thermal Data For Glacier Moni...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Surface Features of an Alpine Glacier through Multispectral and Thermal Drone Surveys

et al. 2023

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Glacier surfaces are highly heterogeneous mixtures of ice, snow, light-absorbing impurities and debris material. The spatial and temporal variability of these components affects ice surface characteristics and strongly influences glacier energy and mass balance. Remote sensing offers a unique opportunity to characterize glacier optical and thermal properties, enabling a better understanding of different processes occurring at the glacial surface. In this study, we evaluate the potential of optical and thermal data collected from field and drone platforms to map the abundances of predominant glacier surfaces (i.e., snow, clean ice, melting ice, dark ice, cryoconite, dusty snow and debris cover) on the Zebrù glacier in the Italian Alps. The drone surveys were conducted on the ablation zone of the glacier on 29 and 30 July 2020, corresponding to the middle of the ablation season. We identified very high heterogeneity of surface types dominated by melting ice (30% of the investigated area), dark ice (24%), clean ice (19%) and debris cover (17%). The surface temperature of debris cover was inversely related to debris-cover thickness. This relation is influenced by the petrology of debris cover, suggesting the importance of lithology when considering the role of debris over glaciers. Multispectral and thermal drone surveys can thus provide accurate high-resolution maps of different snow and ice types and their temperature, which are critical elements to better understand the glacier’s energy budget and melt rates.

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Section: Opportunities Of Drone-derived Thermal Data For Glacier Moni...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Surface Features of an Alpine Glacier through Multispectral and Thermal Drone Surveys

et al. 2023

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A low-cost and open-source approach for supraglacial debris thickness mapping using UAV-based infrared thermography

Messmer,

Groos

2024

The Cryosphere

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Abstract. Debris-covered glaciers exist in many mountain ranges and play an important role in the regional water cycle. However, modelling the surface mass balance, runoff contribution and future evolution of debris-covered glaciers is fraught with uncertainty as accurate observations on small-scale variations in debris thickness and sub-debris ice melt rates are only available for a few locations worldwide. Here we describe a customised low-cost unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) for high-resolution thermal imaging of mountain glaciers and present a complete open-source pipeline that facilitates the generation of accurate surface temperature and debris thickness maps from radiometric images. First, a radiometric orthophoto is computed from individual radiometric UAV images using structure-from-motion and multi-view-stereo techniques. User-specific calibration and correction procedures can then be applied to the radiometric orthophoto to account for atmospheric and environmental influences that affect the radiometric measurement. The thermal orthophoto reveals distinct spatial variations in surface temperature across the surveyed debris-covered area. Finally, a high-resolution debris thickness map is derived from the corrected thermal orthophoto using an empirical or inverse surface energy balance model that relates surface temperature to debris thickness and is calibrated against in situ measurements. Our results from a small-scale experiment on the Kanderfirn (also known as Kander Neve) in the Swiss Alps show that the surface temperature and thickness of a relatively thin debris layer (ca. 0–15 cm) can be mapped with high accuracy using an empirical or physical model. On snow and ice surfaces, the mean deviation of the mapped surface temperature from the melting point (∼ 0 ∘C) was 0.6 ± 2.0 ∘C. The root-mean-square error of the modelled debris thickness was 1.3 cm. Through the detailed mapping, typical small-scale debris features and debris thickness patterns become visible, which are not spatially resolved by the thermal infrared sensors of current-generation satellites. The presented approach paves the way for comprehensive high-resolution supraglacial debris thickness mapping and opens up new opportunities for more accurate monitoring and modelling of debris-covered glaciers.

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Using thermal UAV imagery to model distributed debris thicknesses and sub-debris melt rates on debris-covered glaciers

Cited by 2 publications

References 46 publications

Mapping Surface Features of an Alpine Glacier through Multispectral and Thermal Drone Surveys

Mapping Surface Features of an Alpine Glacier through Multispectral and Thermal Drone Surveys

A low-cost and open-source approach for supraglacial debris thickness mapping using UAV-based infrared thermography

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