Revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences: examples from the Karakoram
Although animated images are very popular on the internet, they have so far found only limited use for glaciological applications. With long time series of satellite images becoming increasingly available and glaciers being well recognized for their rapid changes and variable flow dynamics, animated...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2015-11-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/2201/2015/tc-9-2201-2015.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811322127827075072 |
|---|---|
| author | F. Paul |
| author_facet | F. Paul |
| author_sort | F. Paul |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although animated images are very popular on the internet, they have so far
found only limited use for glaciological applications. With long time series
of satellite images becoming increasingly available and glaciers being well
recognized for their rapid changes and variable flow dynamics, animated
sequences of multiple satellite images reveal glacier dynamics in a
time-lapse mode, making the otherwise slow changes of glacier movement
visible and understandable to the wider public. For this study, animated
image sequences were created for four regions in the central Karakoram
mountain range over a 25-year time period (1990–2015) from freely available
image quick-looks of orthorectified Landsat scenes. The animations play
automatically in a web browser and reveal highly complex patterns of glacier
flow and surge dynamics that are difficult to obtain by other methods. In
contrast to other regions, surging glaciers in the Karakoram are often small
(10 km<sup>2</sup> or less), steep, debris-free, and advance for several years
to decades at relatively low annual rates (about 100 m a<sup>−1</sup>).
These characteristics overlap with those of non-surge-type glaciers, making a
clear identification difficult. However, as in other regions, the surging
glaciers in the central Karakoram also show sudden increases of flow velocity
and mass waves travelling down glacier. The surges of individual glaciers are
generally out of phase, indicating a limited climatic control on their
dynamics. On the other hand, nearly all other glaciers in the region are
either stable or slightly advancing, indicating balanced or even positive
mass budgets over the past few decades. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:29:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a65a75251a074790ae6b630abfc3764b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:29:43Z |
| publishDate | 2015-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-a65a75251a074790ae6b630abfc3764b2022-12-22T02:45:02ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242015-11-01962201221410.5194/tc-9-2201-2015Revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences: examples from the KarakoramF. Paul0Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandAlthough animated images are very popular on the internet, they have so far found only limited use for glaciological applications. With long time series of satellite images becoming increasingly available and glaciers being well recognized for their rapid changes and variable flow dynamics, animated sequences of multiple satellite images reveal glacier dynamics in a time-lapse mode, making the otherwise slow changes of glacier movement visible and understandable to the wider public. For this study, animated image sequences were created for four regions in the central Karakoram mountain range over a 25-year time period (1990–2015) from freely available image quick-looks of orthorectified Landsat scenes. The animations play automatically in a web browser and reveal highly complex patterns of glacier flow and surge dynamics that are difficult to obtain by other methods. In contrast to other regions, surging glaciers in the Karakoram are often small (10 km<sup>2</sup> or less), steep, debris-free, and advance for several years to decades at relatively low annual rates (about 100 m a<sup>−1</sup>). These characteristics overlap with those of non-surge-type glaciers, making a clear identification difficult. However, as in other regions, the surging glaciers in the central Karakoram also show sudden increases of flow velocity and mass waves travelling down glacier. The surges of individual glaciers are generally out of phase, indicating a limited climatic control on their dynamics. On the other hand, nearly all other glaciers in the region are either stable or slightly advancing, indicating balanced or even positive mass budgets over the past few decades.http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/2201/2015/tc-9-2201-2015.pdf |
| spellingShingle | F. Paul Revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences: examples from the Karakoram The Cryosphere |
| title | Revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences: examples from the Karakoram |
| title_full | Revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences: examples from the Karakoram |
| title_fullStr | Revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences: examples from the Karakoram |
| title_full_unstemmed | Revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences: examples from the Karakoram |
| title_short | Revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences: examples from the Karakoram |
| title_sort | revealing glacier flow and surge dynamics from animated satellite image sequences examples from the karakoram |
| url | http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/2201/2015/tc-9-2201-2015.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fpaul revealingglacierflowandsurgedynamicsfromanimatedsatelliteimagesequencesexamplesfromthekarakoram |