Mountain Glacier Flow Velocity Retrieval from Ascending and Descending Sentinel-1 Data Using the Offset Tracking and MSBAS Technique: A Case Study of the Siachen Glacier in Karakoram from 2017 to 2021

Abstract

Synthetic Aperture Radar images have recently been utilized in glacier surface flow velocity research due to their continuously improving imaging technology, which increases the resolution and scope of research. In this study, we employed the offset tracking and multidimensional small baseline subset (MSBAS) technique to extract the surface flow velocity of the Siachen Glacier from 253 Sentinel-1 images. From 2017 to 2021, the Siachen Glacier had an average flow velocity of 38.25 m a−1, with the highest flow velocity of 353.35 m a−1 located in the upper part of a tributary due to the steep slope and narrow valley. The inter-annual flow velocity fluctuations show visible seasonal patterns, with the highest flow velocity observed between May and July and the lowest between December and January. Mass balance calculated by the geodetic method based on AST14DEM indicates that the Siachen Glacier experienced a positive mass change (0.07 ± 0.23 m w.e. a−1) between 2008 and 2021. However, there was significant spatial heterogeneity revealed in the distribution, with surface elevation changes showing a decrease in the glacier tongue while thickness increased in two other western tributaries of the Siachen Glacier. The non-surface parallel flow component is correlated with the strain rate and mass balance process, and correlation analysis indicates a positive agreement between these two variables. Therefore, using glacier flow velocities obtained from the SAR approach, we can evaluate the health of the glacier and obtain crucial factors for the glacier’s dynamic model. Two western tributaries of the Siachen Glacier experienced mass gain in the past two decades, necessitating close monitoring of flow velocity changes in the future to detect potential glacier surges.