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Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets

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A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 42482

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ingo Sasgen

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Guest Editor

Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Interests: ice sheet mass balance; sea level change; glacial isostatic adjustment; GRACE/GRACE-FO; data combination; joint inversion; surface mass balance, ice dynamics; climate drivers

Dr. Dana Floricioiu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

German Aerospace Center (DLR), Remote Sensing Technology Institute, Oberpfaffenhofen, 82234 Weßling, Germany
Interests: ice flow dynamics; glacier mass balance; synthetic aperture radar; TanDEM-X; TerraSAR-X

Dr. Sebastian Bjerregaard Simonsen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

DTU Space, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Interests: ice sheet mass balance; ice dynamics; radar and laser altimetry; CryoSat-2, ICESat-1 and ICESat-2, Cal/Val campaigns; firn compaction; surface processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Mal McMillan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
Interests: SAR altimetry; ice sheets; glaciers; ice caps; CryoSat-2; Sentinel-3; mission concepts; retrieval algorithms; uncertainties

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are undergoing rapid change, currently contributing about one third—with increasing tendencies—to global mean sea-level rise [1]. Over the past three decades, satellite remote sensing has revolutionized our view of ice sheet behavior, enabling for example the precise quantification of the hot spots of ice loss, while providing new insights into the related controlling processes. Today, a suite of Earth observation data is available, targeting various characteristics of the ice sheets’ state and enabling the study of their interaction with the atmosphere, ocean, and solid Earth.

For this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of manuscripts addressing all aspects of the satellite remote sensing of ice sheets, ranging from mission design and advancing retrieval algorithms to the application of the data for understanding the impact of climate change on the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. We particularly invite contributions SAR and laser altimetry, SAR imagery, gravimetry, as well as optical and hyperspectral observations for an improved understanding of the evolution of ice sheets. We encourage submissions involving satellite data of the Sentinel missions, TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X, CryoSat-2, ICESat-1/2, GRACE/GRACE Follow On, as well as data combination approaches and the generation of historic time series, but we are open to related topics, such as results from airborne campaigns and Cal/Val activities.

We are looking forward to receiving manuscripts describing your new work.

Dr. Ingo Sasgen
Dr. Dana Floricioiu
Dr. Sebastian Bjerregaard Simonsen
Dr. Mal McMillan
Guest Editors

Reference

WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group. Global sea-level budget 1993–present. Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 2018, 10, 1551-1590. https://www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/10/1551/2018/essd-10-1551-2018.pdf

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

Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets
ice sheet mass change
elevation and volume change
ice sheet geometry and extent
ice dynamics
surface processes
supra- und subglacial processes
bathymetry
Cal/Val activities
laser altimetry
radar altimetry
synthetic aperture radar
gravimetry
optical and hyperspectral remote sensing
advances in algorithm development
future mission design

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4294 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ice Sheet Topography from a New CryoSat-2 SARIn Processing Chain, and Assessment by Comparison to ICESat-2 over Antarctica

by Jérémie Aublanc, Pierre Thibaut, Amandine Guillot, François Boy and Nicolas Picot

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(22), 4508; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13224508 - 09 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2404

Abstract

In this study, we present a new level-2 processing chain dedicated to the CryoSat-2 Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometric (SARIn) measurements acquired over ice sheets. Compared to the ESA ground segment processor, it includes revised methods to detect waveform leading edges and perform retracking at the Point of Closest Approach (POCA). CryoSat-2 SARIn mode surface height measurements retrieved from the newly developed processing chain are compared to ICESat-2 surface height measurements extracted from the ATL06 product. About 250,000 space–time nearly coincident observations are identified and examined over the Antarctic ice sheet, and over a one-year period. On average, the median elevation bias between both missions is about −18 cm, with CryoSat-2 underestimating the surface topography compared to ICESat-2. The Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) between CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 elevation estimates is 46.5 cm. These performances were compared to those obtained with CryoSat-2 SARIn mode elevations from the ESA PDGS level-2 products (ICE Baseline-D processor). The MAD between CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 elevation estimates is significantly reduced with the new processing developed, by about 42%. The improvement is more substantial over areas closer to the coast, where the topography is more complex and surface slope increases. In terms of perspectives, the impacts of surface roughness and volume scattering on the SARIn mode waveforms have to be further investigated. This is crucial to understand geographical variations of the elevation bias between CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 and continue enhancing the SARIn mode level-2 processing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets)

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16 pages, 10847 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydrological and Kinematic Precursors of the 2017 Calving Event at the Petermann Glacier in Greenland Observed from Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data

by Daan Li, Liming Jiang and Ronggang Huang

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(4), 591; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13040591 - 07 Feb 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2553

Abstract

Both a decrease of sea ice and an increase of surface meltwater, which may induce ice-flow speedup and frontal collapse, have a significant impact on the stability of the floating ice shelf in Greenland. However, detailed dynamic precursors and drivers prior to a fast-calving process remain unclear due to sparse remote sensing observations. Here, we present a comprehensive investigation on hydrological and kinematic precursors before the calving event on 26 July 2017 of Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland, by jointly using remote sensing observations at high-temporal resolution and an ice-flow model. Time series of ice-flow velocity fields during July 2017 were retrieved with Sentinel-2 observations with a sub-weekly sampling interval. The ice-flow speed quickly reached 30 m/d on 26 July (the day before the calving), which is roughly 10 times quicker than the mean glacier velocity. Additionally, a significant decrease in the radar backscatter coefficient of Sentinel-1 images suggests a rapid transformation from landfast sea ice into open water, associated with a decrease in sea ice extent. Additionally, the area of melt ponds on the floating ice tongue began to increase in mid-May, quickly reached a peak at the end of June and lasted for nearly one month until the calving occurred. We used the ice sheet system model to model the spatial-temporal damage and stress on the floating ice, thereby finding an abnormal stress distribution in a cracked region. It is inferred that this calving event may relate to a weakening of the sea ice, shearing of the tributary glacier, and meltwater infiltrating crevasses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets)

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Graphical abstract

17 pages, 11025 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Perennial Supraglacial Lakes in Northeast Greenland Observed by Polarimetric SAR

by Ludwig Schröder, Niklas Neckel, Robin Zindler and Angelika Humbert

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(17), 2798; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12172798 - 28 Aug 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4456

Abstract

Supraglacial liquid water at the margins of ice sheets has an important impact on the surface energy balance and can also influence the ice flow when supraglacial lakes drain to the bed. Optical imagery is able to monitor supraglacial lakes during the summer season. Here we developed an alternative method using polarimetric SAR from Sentinel-1 during 2017–2020 to distinguish between liquid water and other surface types at the margin of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream. This allows the supraglacial hydrology to be monitored during the winter months too. We found that the majority of supraglacial lakes persist over winter. When comparing our results to optical data, we found significantly more water. Even during summer, many lakes are partly or fully covered by a lid of ice and snow. We used our classification results to automatically map the outlines of supraglacial lakes, create time series of water area for each lake, and hence detect drainage events. We even found several winter time drainages, which might have an important effect on ice flow. Our method has problems during the peak of the melt season, but for the rest of the year it provides crucial information for better understanding the component of supraglacial hydrology in the glaciological system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets)

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Graphical abstract

24 pages, 7040 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synergistic Use of Single-Pass Interferometry and Radar Altimetry to Measure Mass Loss of NEGIS Outlet Glaciers between 2011 and 2014

by Lukas Krieger, Undine Strößenreuther, Veit Helm, Dana Floricioiu and Martin Horwath

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(6), 996; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12060996 - 19 Mar 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2907

Abstract

Mass balances of individual glaciers on ice sheets have been previously reported by forming a mass budget of discharged ice and modelled ice sheet surface mass balance or a complementary method which measures volume changes over the glaciated area that are subsequently converted to glacier mass change. On ice sheets, volume changes have been measured predominantly with radar and laser altimeters but InSAR DEM differencing has also been applied on smaller ice bodies. Here, we report for the first time on the synergistic use of volumetric measurements from the CryoSat-2 radar altimetry mission together with TanDEM-X DEM differencing and calculate the mass balance of the two major outlet glaciers of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream: Zachariæ Isstrøm and Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden (79North). The glaciers lost

3.59 \pm 1.15

G

t

a^{- 1}

and

1.01 \pm 0.95

G

t

a^{- 1}

, respectively, between January 2011 and January 2014. Additionally, there has been substantial sub-aqueous mass loss on Zachariæ Isstrøm of more than 11

G

t

a^{- 1}

. We attribute the mass changes on both glaciers to dynamic downwasting. The presented methodology now permits using TanDEM-X bistatic InSAR data in the context of geodetic mass balance investigations for large ice sheet outlet glaciers. In the future, this will allow monitoring the mass changes of dynamic outlet glaciers with high spatial resolution while the superior vertical accuracy of CryoSat-2 can be used for the vast accumulation zones in the ice sheet interior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets)

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Graphical abstract

19 pages, 12410 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimating Penetration-Related X-Band InSAR Elevation Bias: A Study over the Greenland Ice Sheet

by Sahra Abdullahi, Birgit Wessel, Martin Huber, Anna Wendleder, Achim Roth and Claudia Kuenzer

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(24), 2903; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11242903 - 05 Dec 2019

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5142

Abstract

Accelerating melt on the Greenland ice sheet leads to dramatic changes at a global scale. Especially in the last decades, not only the monitoring, but also the quantification of these changes has gained considerably in importance. In this context, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) systems complement existing data sources by their capability to acquire 3D information at high spatial resolution over large areas independent of weather conditions and illumination. However, penetration of the SAR signals into the snow and ice surface leads to a bias in measured height, which has to be corrected to obtain accurate elevation data. Therefore, this study purposes an easy transferable pixel-based approach for X-band penetration-related elevation bias estimation based on single-pass interferometric coherence and backscatter intensity which was performed at two test sites on the Northern Greenland ice sheet. In particular, the penetration bias was estimated using a multiple linear regression model based on TanDEM-X InSAR data and IceBridge laser-altimeter measurements to correct TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Model (DEM) scenes. Validation efforts yielded good agreement between observations and estimations with a coefficient of determination of R² = 68% and an RMSE of 0.68 m. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the benefits of X-band penetration bias estimation within the application context of ice sheet elevation change detection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets)

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Graphical abstract

17 pages, 9441 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sub-Annual Calving Front Migration, Area Change and Calving Rates from Swath Mode CryoSat-2 Altimetry, on Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica

by Jan Wuite, Thomas Nagler, Noel Gourmelen, Maria Jose Escorihuela, Anna E. Hogg and Mark R. Drinkwater

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(23), 2761; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11232761 - 23 Nov 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7039

Abstract

Mapping the time-variable calving front location (CFL) of Antarctic ice shelves is important for estimating the freshwater budget, as an indicator of changing ocean and structural conditions or as a precursor of dynamic instability. Here, we present a novel approach for deriving regular and consistent CFLs based on CryoSat-2 swath altimetry. The CFL detection is based on the premise that the shelf edge is usually characterized by a steep ice cliff, which is clearly resolved in the surface elevation data. Our method applies edge detection and vectorization of the sharp ice edge in gridded elevation data to generate vector shapefiles of the calving front. To show the feasibility of our approach, we derived a unique data set of ice-front positions for the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf (FRIS) between 2011 and 2018 at a 200 m spatial resolution and biannual temporal frequency. The observed CFLs compare well with independently derived ice front positions from Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery and are used to calculate area change, advance rates, and iceberg calving rates. We measure an area increase of 810 ± 40 km² a⁻¹ for FRIS and calving rates of 9 ± 1 Gt a⁻¹ and 7 ± 1 Gt a⁻¹ for the Filchner and Ronne Ice Shelves, respectively, which is an order of magnitude smaller than their steady-state calving flux. Our findings demonstrate that the “elevation-edge” method is complementary to standard CFL detection techniques. Although at a reduced spatial resolution and less suitable for smaller glaciers in steep terrain, it enables to provide CFLs at regular intervals and to fill existing gaps in time and space. Moreover, the method simultaneously provides ice thickness, required for mass budget calculation, and has a degree of automation which removes the need for heavy manual intervention. In the future, altimetry data has the potential to deliver a systematic and continuous record of change in ice shelf calving front positions around Antarctica. This will greatly benefit the investigation of environmental forcing on ice flow and terminus dynamics by providing a valuable climate data record and improving our knowledge of the constraints for calving models and ice shelf freshwater budget. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets)

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26 pages, 28982 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated View of Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Changes Based on Models and Satellite Observations

by Ruth Mottram, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Synne Høyer Svendsen, Valentina R. Barletta, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Thomas Nagler, Jan Wuite, Andreas Groh, Martin Horwath, Job Rosier, Anne Solgaard, Christine S. Hvidberg and Rene Forsberg

Remote Sens. 2019, 11(12), 1407; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11121407 - 13 Jun 2019

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 16162

Abstract

The Greenland ice sheet is a major contributor to sea level rise, adding on average 0.47 ± 0.23 mm year

^{- 1}

to global mean sea level between 1991 and 2015. The cryosphere as a whole has contributed around 45% of observed global [...] Read more.

The Greenland ice sheet is a major contributor to sea level rise, adding on average 0.47 ± 0.23 mm year

^{- 1}

to global mean sea level between 1991 and 2015. The cryosphere as a whole has contributed around 45% of observed global sea level rise since 1993. Understanding the present-day state of the Greenland ice sheet is therefore vital for understanding the processes controlling the modern-day rates of sea level change and for making projections of sea level rise into the future. Here, we provide an overview of the current state of the mass budget of Greenland based on a diverse range of remote sensing observations to produce the essential climate variables (ECVs) of ice velocity, surface elevation change, grounding line location, calving front location, and gravimetric mass balance as well as numerical modelling that together build a consistent picture of a shrinking ice sheet. We also combine these observations with output from a regional climate model and from an ice sheet model to gain insight into existing biases in ice sheet dynamics and surface mass balance processes. Observations show surface lowering across virtually all regions of the ice sheet and at some locations up to −2.65 m year

^{- 1}

between 1995 and 2017 based on radar altimetry analysis. In addition, calving fronts at 28 study sites, representing a sample of typical glaciers, have retreated all around Greenland since the 1990s and in only two out of 28 study locations have they remained stable. During the same period, two of five floating ice shelves have collapsed while the locations of grounding lines at the remaining three floating ice shelves have remained stable over the observation period. In a detailed case study with a fracture model at Petermann glacier, we demonstrate the potential sensitivity of these floating ice shelves to future warming. GRACE gravimetrically-derived mass balance (GMB) data shows that overall Greenland has lost 255 ± 15 Gt year

^{- 1}

of ice over the period 2003 to 2016, consistent with that shown by IMBIE and a marked increase compared to a rate of loss of 83 ± 63 Gt year

^{- 1}

in the 1993–2003 period. Regional climate model and ice sheet model simulations show that surface mass processes dominate the Greenland ice sheet mass budget over most of the interior. However, in areas of high ice velocity there is a significant contribution to mass loss by ice dynamical processes. Marked differences between models and observations indicate that not all processes are captured accurately within models, indicating areas for future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets)

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