mapping glacier changes over time#
description#
On a global scale, glacier melt and recession is currently accelerating. Unfortunately, many studies of glacier changes are constrained to the “satellite era” (ca. 1970-present), and observations of extent or length for many glaciers around the world are only available at a single point in time. In this project, you will work to help fill in some of these gaps by mapping glaciers using a combination of satellite imagery, declassified reconnaissance imagery, aerial photographs, or even geomorphological imprints left by retreating glaciers. The focus is mostly open-ended, and could vary from mapping glacier changes on a regional scale over several decades or even centuries, to mapping higher-resolution changes at a single glacier. There is also the potential to analyze/compare glacier changes with external factors such as air and ocean temperatures.
Potential study areas include Greenland, Arctic Canada, Alaska, the Russian Arctic, South America, or High Mountain Asia. This project is suitable for a student with interest in satellite remote sensing/GIS, glaciology, geomorphology, or even some computer programming (Python/Matlab or similar).
example references#
Carr, J. R., Bell, H., Killick, R., & Holt, T. (2017). Exceptional retreat of Novaya Zemlya’s marine-terminating outlet glaciers between 2000 and 2013. The Cryosphere, 11(5), 2149–2174. doi: 10.5194/tc-11-2149-2017
Glasser, N. F., Harrison, S., Jansson, K. N., Anderson, K., & Cowley, A. (2011). Global sea-level contribution from the Patagonian Icefields since the Little Ice Age maximum. Nature Geoscience, 4(5), 303–307. doi: 10.1038/ngeo1122
Leclercq, P. W., Oerlemans, J., Basagic, H. J., Bushueva, I., Cook, A. J., & Le Bris, R. (2014). A data set of worldwide glacier length fluctuations. The Cryosphere, 8(2), 659–672. doi: 10.5194/tc-8-659-2014
McNabb, R. W., & Hock, R. (2014). Alaska tidewater glacier terminus positions, 1948-2012. Journal of Geophysical Research, 119(2), 153–167. doi: 10.1002/2013JF002915
Winsvold, S. H., Andreassen, L. M., & Kienholz, C. (2014). Glacier area and length changes in Norway from repeat inventories. The Cryosphere, 8(5), 1885–1903. doi: 10.5194/tc-8-1885-2014