A New Analytical Method for Estimating Antarctic Ice Flow in the 1960s From Historical Optical Satellite Imagery

Abstract

Ice flow velocity is used to estimate ice mass changes in glaciers and is a significant indicator of the stability of the Antarctica ice sheet in global change studies. The existing regional Antarctica ice flow speed maps are usually derived from radar or optical satellite observations of modern satellites since the 1970s. This paper presents a new analytical photogrammetric method for estimating Antarctica ice flow velocity fields by using film-based stereo ARGON photographs collected in the 1960s. The key of the proposed innovative method is a parallax decomposition that separates the effect of the terrain relief from the ice flow motion. An innovative implementation strategy is developed by using a framework that involves key techniques of hierarchical stereo image matching, ice flow direction determination, parallax decomposition, and ice flow speed estimation. This method is applied in the Rayner glacier in eastern Antarctica by using two sets of ARGON images with a two-month interval in 1963. The produced digital terrain model and speed map achieved a ground position accuracy of 61 m and a speed accuracy of 70 m $\text{a}^{-1}$ . A comparison with recent products from 2000 to 2010 shows no significant topographic changes in the study area. Furthermore, the speed around the grounding line remained at the same level, while the speed in the ice shelf front decreased by 73 m $\text{a}^{-1}$ . The ice shelf front advanced by approximately 7 km over more than 40 years. Overall, the observation results indicate favorable conditions for the stability of the Rayner glacier-ice shelf system.