Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry
The seasonal surface changes of glaciers in Tien Shan have seen little prior investigation despite the increase in geodetic studies of multi-year changes. In this study, we analyzed the potential of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to analyze seasonal surface change processes of the Urumqi Glacier N...
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/17/3398 |
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| author | Puyu Wang Hongliang Li Zhongqin Li Yushuo Liu Chunhai Xu Jianxin Mu Hui Zhang |
| author_facet | Puyu Wang Hongliang Li Zhongqin Li Yushuo Liu Chunhai Xu Jianxin Mu Hui Zhang |
| author_sort | Puyu Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The seasonal surface changes of glaciers in Tien Shan have seen little prior investigation despite the increase in geodetic studies of multi-year changes. In this study, we analyzed the potential of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to analyze seasonal surface change processes of the Urumqi Glacier No. 1 in eastern Tien Shan. We carried out UAV surveys at the beginning and the end of the ablation period in 2018. The high-precision evolution of surface elevation, geodetic mass changes, surface velocity, and terminus change in the surveyed ablation area were correspondingly derived in combination with ground measurements, including stake/snow-pit observation and GPS measurement. The derived mean elevation change in the surveyed ablation area was −1.64 m, corresponding to the geodetic mass balance of approximately −1.39 m w.e. during the ablation period in 2018. The mean surface velocity was 3.3 m/yr and characterized by the spatial change of the velocity, which was less in the East Branch than in the West Branch. The UAV survey results were a little less than those from the ground measurements, and the correlation coefficient was 0.88 for the surface elevation change and 0.87 for surface displacement. The relative error of the glacier terminus change was 4.5% for the East Branch and 6.2% for the West Branch. These results show that UAV photogrammetry is ideal for assessing seasonal glacier surface changes and has a potential application in the monitoring of detailed glacier changes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:05:11Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:05:11Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-a2a67db5e7334d71ab20f542fa2a828a2023-11-22T11:08:18ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-08-011317339810.3390/rs13173398Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV PhotogrammetryPuyu Wang0Hongliang Li1Zhongqin Li2Yushuo Liu3Chunhai Xu4Jianxin Mu5Hui Zhang6State Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaThe seasonal surface changes of glaciers in Tien Shan have seen little prior investigation despite the increase in geodetic studies of multi-year changes. In this study, we analyzed the potential of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to analyze seasonal surface change processes of the Urumqi Glacier No. 1 in eastern Tien Shan. We carried out UAV surveys at the beginning and the end of the ablation period in 2018. The high-precision evolution of surface elevation, geodetic mass changes, surface velocity, and terminus change in the surveyed ablation area were correspondingly derived in combination with ground measurements, including stake/snow-pit observation and GPS measurement. The derived mean elevation change in the surveyed ablation area was −1.64 m, corresponding to the geodetic mass balance of approximately −1.39 m w.e. during the ablation period in 2018. The mean surface velocity was 3.3 m/yr and characterized by the spatial change of the velocity, which was less in the East Branch than in the West Branch. The UAV survey results were a little less than those from the ground measurements, and the correlation coefficient was 0.88 for the surface elevation change and 0.87 for surface displacement. The relative error of the glacier terminus change was 4.5% for the East Branch and 6.2% for the West Branch. These results show that UAV photogrammetry is ideal for assessing seasonal glacier surface changes and has a potential application in the monitoring of detailed glacier changes.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/17/3398Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)seasonal surface elevation changevelocityUrumqi Glacier No. 1Tien Shan |
| spellingShingle | Puyu Wang Hongliang Li Zhongqin Li Yushuo Liu Chunhai Xu Jianxin Mu Hui Zhang Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry Remote Sensing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) seasonal surface elevation change velocity Urumqi Glacier No. 1 Tien Shan |
| title | Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry |
| title_full | Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry |
| title_short | Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry |
| title_sort | seasonal surface change of urumqi glacier no 1 eastern tien shan china revealed by repeated high resolution uav photogrammetry |
| topic | Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) seasonal surface elevation change velocity Urumqi Glacier No. 1 Tien Shan |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/17/3398 |
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