Abstract
Abstract. Modelling of ice sheet micro-topography based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is meaningful for the understanding of interactions between local ice mass and climate. 3D reconstruction based on UAV has advantages that satellite remote sensing cannot replace. Here, the surface micro-topography measurement was performed during the China's 36th Antarctic expedition (CHINARE) in 2019–2020, using an UAV platform composed of a DJI Phantom 4 and a D-RTK GNSS mobile station around Zhongshan Station of China. Then, four partly overlapped models were obtained by the SfM-MVS technology. Affected by the complex environment factors, the performance of this technology sometimes is challenged over the marginal Antarctic Ice Sheet. Satellite altimetry is one of the most essential technologies for land ice surface elevation measurements, widely used in regional or global ice mass balance estimations.We use the land ice surface heights with high accuracy derived from the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) to compare with the UAV-derived models. Combined with the high precision and space-time resolution of ICESat-2 satellite altimetry, the results of the model were evaluated under different terrain conditions. It has been certified that the derived models without extra GCPs were capable of detecting the surface micro-topographic features if considering the potential factors, which can be popularized and developed in polar research.
Highlights
Antarctica is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable regions in the global climate system
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its sixth assessment cycle specially reported that the joint action of glacier and ice sheet is the main reason for the rapid global sea level rise (Oppenheimer et al, 2019)
The results indicated an accuracy of 3 cm with a precision of 9 cm for ATL06 data (Release 001) using kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) technology in a 750 km ground‐based traverse of the flat interior of the Antarctic ice sheet (Brunt et al, 2019)
Summary
Antarctica is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable regions in the global climate system. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its sixth assessment cycle specially reported that the joint action of glacier and ice sheet is the main reason for the rapid global sea level rise (Oppenheimer et al, 2019). The interaction between climate and Antarctica ice sheet is not completely understood. The surface micro-topographic features of glaciers are more possibly reflected on high-solution orthophotos together with digital surface models (DSMs) derived from UAV, such as melt ponds, blue ice, crevasses and increased ice velocity (Qiao et al, 2020; Miles et al, 2018). Complex environment of polar region restricted the GCP measurement based on UAV in most cases, including the harsh weather, expensive logistics and the crevasse
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