Advances in Remote Sensing for Glacier Preservation
A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Remote Sensing".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 December 2025 | Viewed by 48
Special Issue Editors
Interests: snow and ice chemistry; glacier physics; snow and ice industry; remote sensing
Interests: glaciology; climate change; physical geography; remote sensing
Interests: glaciology; debris-covered glaciers; glacier-related hazards; glacial drainage system; remote sensing in glaciology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Glaciers, vital to global water security and climate regulation, face accelerating retreat due to climate change and human activities, including infrastructure development in glacierized regions. Aligned with the UN’s International Year of Glacier Preservation (2023–2027), Decade of the Cryosphere (2025–2035), and the inaugural International Glacier Day (March 21, 2024), this Special Issue highlights urgent innovations in remote sensing for glacier preservation. Since the 1970s, satellite-based multispectral imaging, SAR, and InSAR have enabled the systematic monitoring of glacier dynamics, mass balance, and melt patterns. Today, high-resolution satellite constellations (e.g., Sentinel), uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), and ground-based LiDAR provide unprecedented precision for tracking supraglacial processes, debris cover, and anthropogenic impacts such as ice fragmentation from roads. Emerging machine learning and cloud computing tools further enhance the translation of big data into actionable insights for policymakers. This Special Issue seeks multidisciplinary research addressing climate-driven loss and human-induced disturbances, advancing technologies and strategies to safeguard these irreplaceable systems.
This Special Issue will advance interdisciplinary research on the application of remote sensing technologies to address critical challenges in glacier preservation. We seek studies that integrate multisource data (e.g., satellite, UAS, ground-based sensors) and innovative methodologies, such as machine learning, SAR/InSAR, and hyperspectral imaging, to quantify glacier dynamics, mass balance, surface processes, and human-induced impacts (e.g., infrastructure development, pollution). Contributions may span scales from local glacial basins to regional/global assessments, focusing on translating observations into actionable strategies for conservation.
Articles may address, but are not limited to, to the following topics:
- Glacier velocity, thickness, and volume change detection;
- Supraglacial and subglacial process monitoring (e.g., meltwater, debris cover);
- Impacts of anthropogenic activities (e.g., road construction, black carbon deposition);
- Multisensor data fusion and novel algorithm development;
- Predictive modeling of glacier retreat and water resource security;
- High-resolution mapping of glacial hazards (e.g., avalanches, GLOFs);
- Integration of remote sensing with in situ and climate data;
- Policy-relevant frameworks for cryosphere conservation.
Dr. Feiteng Wang
Dr. Chunhai Xu
Prof. Dr. Qiao Liu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- glacier preservation
- remote sensing
- glacier region engineering
- anthropogenic impacts
- SAR/InSAR
- machine learning
- glacier dynamics
- glacier mass balance
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