Surface Elevation Change Monitoring Based on ICESat-2 Satellite Altimetry Data

Abstract

The ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2), launched by NASA on September 18, 2018, offers higher precision in surface elevation monitoring. This study aims to investigate the surface elevation changes over different time periods in the Delong and Bulianta open-pit mines in Wulanmuren Township, Ordos City, using ICESat-2 laser data. The study utilizes the spatial distribution information of each photon from ATL03 (terrain elevation data) and the classification information of each photon from ATL08 (vegetation canopy height and surface elevation data) to extract surface photon elevation data for different periods in the same area. The precision of ICESat-2 satellite elevation data is validated using the on-board radar data from Henan Polytechnic University's Feima unmanned aerial vehicle D2000 in Jiaozuo City, Henan Province.Results indicate that in the No.1 area of the Delong open-pit mine, the surface subsided by approximately 16.3 meters between November 14, 2019, and November 10, 2021, due to soil removal operations. In the No.2 and No.3 areas of the Bulianta open-pit mine, the surface was uplifted by 3.1 meters and 13.6 meters, respectively, between May 16, 2019, and August 13, 2020, due to backfilling after mining. Additionally, the No.4 area was uplifted by about 10.5 meters between November 14, 2019, and November 10, 2021.Furthermore, the accuracy assessment yielded the following results: R2=0.956, RMSE=0.324, and MAE=0.105 meters, indicating that ICESat-2 data can be used as scientific data for inverting surface elevation changes.