Motion of Arctic glaciers derived from PALSAR DATA

• Main Authors: Tazio Strozzi, Urs Wegmüller
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: ALOS PALSAR; offset tracking; glacier motion; Arctic; Novaya Zemlya
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.494.5258; http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/conf/Proc_PIsymp2007/contents/proceedings/International_Polar_Year/IPY05.pdf

Offset fields between pairs of JERS-1 SAR and ALOS PALSAR data acquired in winter with 44 respectively 46 days time interval were employed for the estimation of glacier motion over Novaya Zemlya in the Russian Arctic. The displacement maps show a number of clearly defined fast-flowing units with displacement larger than about 50 m/year. The estimated error of the offset tracking derived displacement is on the order of 20 m/year. Comparison of JERS-1 SAR and ALOS PALSAR results obtained in 1998 and 2007 allows us to investigate past and recent behavior of Polar Regions and possibly detect changes in the velocity of the glaciers.