Inversion of Glacier 3D Displacement from Sentinel-1 and Landsat 8 Images Based on Variance Component Estimation: A Case Study in Shishapangma Peak, Tibet, China

Abstract

Offset tracking technology is widely studied to evaluate glacier surface displacements. However, few studies have used a cross-platform to this end. In this study, two heterogeneous data sources, Sentinel-1 and Landsat 8, from January 2019 to January 2021, were used to estimate the offset, and then the optimal estimation of the 3D deformation rate of a Himalayan glacier was obtained based on the joint model of variance component estimation. The results show that the maximum deformation rates of the glacier in the east–west direction, north–south direction, and vertical direction are 85, 126, and 88 mm/day, respectively. The results of the joint model were compared and analyzed with the results of simultaneous optical image pixel offset tracking. The results showed that the accuracy of the joint solution model increased by 41% in the east–west direction and 36% in the south–north direction. The regional flow velocity of the moraine glacier after the joint solution was consistent with the vector boundary of the glacier cataloging data. The time-series results of the glacier displacement were calculated using more images. These results indicate that the joint solution model is feasible for calculating temporal glacier velocity. The model can improve the time resolution of the monitoring results and obtain further information on glacier characteristics. Our results show that the glacier velocity is affected by local terrain slope and temperature. However, there is no absolute positive correlation between glacier velocity and slope. This study provides a reference for the joint acquisition of large-scale three-dimensional displacement of glaciers using multi-source remote sensing data and provides support for the identification and early warning of glacier disasters.