Photogrammetric monitoring of glacier margin lakes

Abstract

The growing number of glacier margin lakes that have developed due to glacier retreat have caused an increase of dangerous glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in several regions over the last decade. This normally causes a flood wave downstream the glacier. Typically, such an event takes few to several hours. GLOF scenarios may be a significant hazard to life, property, nature and infrastructure in the affected areas. A GLOF is usually characterized by a progressive water level drop. By observing the water level of the lake, an imminent GLOF-event can be identified. Common gauging systems are often not suitable for the measurement task, as they may be affected by ice fall or landslides in the lake basin. Therefore, in our pilot study, the water level is observed by processing images of a terrestrial camera system observing a glacier margin lake. The paper presents the basic principle of an automatic single-camera-based GLOF early warning system. Challenges and approaches to solve them are discussed. First, results from processed image sequences are presented to show the feasibility of the concept. Water level changes can be determined at decimetre precision.