Using ground-based thermography to analyse surface temperature distribution and estimate debris thickness on Gran Zebrù glacier (Ortles-Cevedale, Italy)

Abstract

In this paper we used ground-based thermal infrared imaging to investigate the spatial variability of surface temperatures on a mountain glacier at high spatial resolution and to estimate the supraglacial debris thickness distribution. The surveyed area is the eastern tongue of Gran Zebrù glacier, a small mountain glacier of the Ortles-Cevedale group (Italy). A FLIR E85 Thermal Camera was used to obtain a panoramic thermal image of the glacier surface on 30 September 2019 that was calibrated and georeferenced in order to obtain surface temperatures.Based on field data, debris thickness and debris surface temperature were correlated by using an exponential equation. The equation was used to estimate debris thickness on the glacier from the temperature data.The results show a spatial variability of surface temperatures, with the lowest temperatures found on snow and ice surfaces, and the highest on supraglacial debris. The estimated debris thicknesses show an inhomogeneous distribution, with a calculated mean debris thickness of 0.09 m in the areas of continous debris coverage. We found a good correspondence between measured and estimated debris thickness at 30 validation points (RMSE = 0.04 m and r = of 0.92). We demonstrated that ground-based thermal imaging can provide very high resolution maps of glacier surface temperatures and of debris thickness that can be used for the estimation of glacier ablation, with a spatial resolution more suitable than that offered by satellite data, especially for glaciers with a small area and with a heterogeneous surface.