Abstract
Glacier velocity is one of the most important parameters to understand glacier dynamics. The Severnaya Zemlya archipelago is host to many glaciers of which four major ice caps encompassing these glaciers are studied, namely, Academy of Sciences, Rusanov, Karpinsky, and University. In this study, we adopted the differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) method utilizing ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 datasets, with a temporal resolution of 14 days. The observed maximum velocity for one of the marine-terminating glaciers in the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap was 72.24 cm/day (≈263 m/a). For the same glacier, an increment of 3.75 times the flow rate was observed in 23 years, compared to a previous study. This has been attributed to deformation in the bed topography of the glacier. Glaciers in other ice caps showed a comparatively lower surface velocity, ranging from 7.43 to 32.12 cm/day. For estimating the error value in velocity, we selected three ice-free regions and calculated the average value of their observed movement rates by considering the fact that there is zero movement for ice-free areas. The average value observed for the ice-free area was 0.09 cm/day, and we added this value in our uncertainty analysis. Further, it was observed that marine-terminating glaciers have a higher velocity than land-terminating glaciers. Such important observations were identified in this research, which are expected to facilitate future glacier velocity studies.
Highlights
Glaciers are a reliable indicator of climate change [1,2,3,4], since variations in glacier dynamics, such as glacier velocity, thickness, and mass balance, can directly be related to variations in climate parameters, such as temperature and precipitation
We present glacier flow velocities for four ice caps (Academy of Sciences, Rusanov, Karpinsky, and University) in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago using differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR), from which we try to understand the variability in the flow rates of both land- and marine-terminating glaciers, as well as the physical significance behind an accelerated velocity rate in Academy of Sciences
For ice caps, it has been observed that basal motion is a dominant component of surface motion [36], and this basal motion depends on the bed topography
Summary
Glaciers are a reliable indicator of climate change [1,2,3,4], since variations in glacier dynamics, such as glacier velocity, thickness, and mass balance, can directly be related to variations in climate parameters, such as temperature and precipitation. Monitoring glacier dynamics is significantly important in assessing the contribution from glacier melt-water to sea-level rise [5,6], response of ice masses in different regions to climate change, and even for water resource management at local and regional scales. Among the several techniques of estimating glacier ice flow velocities, measurements using the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is the most accurate [7]. This technique is time consuming, labor-intensive, and spatially-restricted. Previous researchers have leveraged the use of remotely sensed data onboard space-borne
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