Monitoring Greenland and Antarctic supraglacial hydrology from space ...

Ice sheets, large masses of glacial ice covering polar regions, influence global sea level and ocean currents. The study of surface water on these ice sheets, supraglacial hydrology, is essential to understand the effects of climate change on ice sheet stability, sea-level rise, and climate systems....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Corr, Diarmuid
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Lancaster University 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.17635/lancaster/thesis/2222
https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/monitoring-greenland-and-antarctic-supraglacial-hydrology-from-space(5a9c7b5b-75ef-4f32-bed0-1c81dcf92d81).html
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Summary:Ice sheets, large masses of glacial ice covering polar regions, influence global sea level and ocean currents. The study of surface water on these ice sheets, supraglacial hydrology, is essential to understand the effects of climate change on ice sheet stability, sea-level rise, and climate systems. This thesis examines supraglacial hydrological systems in Antarctica and Greenland by developing novel methods to classify them using optical satellite imagery (Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8). Chapter 2 reveals the presence of supraglacial hydrology features, such as lakes and channels, on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet through a novel dual-NDWI and k-means clustering approach. A total of 10,478 features covering 119.4 kmĀ² were identified, broadening our knowledge of Antarctica's supraglacial hydrology. Chapter 3 uses random forest and radiative transfer models to analyse the extent and volume of surface meltwater on the Greenland Ice Sheet from 2014 to 2022. This study assesses supraglacial hydrological features ...