Structure-from-Motion Using Historical Aerial Images to Analyse Changes in Glacier Surface Elevation
The application of structure-from-motion (SfM) to generate digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from different image sources has strongly increased, the major reason for this being that processing is substantially easier with SfM than with conventional photogrammetry. To test the functionality in a...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:23f9c2a55fd249b3be6b012d8f36e84c 2023-05-15T16:22:03+02:00 Structure-from-Motion Using Historical Aerial Images to Analyse Changes in Glacier Surface Elevation Nico Mölg Tobias Bolch 2017-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9101021 https://doaj.org/article/23f9c2a55fd249b3be6b012d8f36e84c EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/10/1021 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs9101021 https://doaj.org/article/23f9c2a55fd249b3be6b012d8f36e84c Remote Sensing, Vol 9, Iss 10, p 1021 (2017) structure-from-motion stereo photogrammetry high mountain terrain archival aerial images digital terrain model glacier elevation change Science Q article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9101021 2022-12-31T15:17:33Z The application of structure-from-motion (SfM) to generate digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from different image sources has strongly increased, the major reason for this being that processing is substantially easier with SfM than with conventional photogrammetry. To test the functionality in a demanding environment, we applied SfM and conventional photogrammetry to archival aerial images from Zmuttgletscher, a mountain glacier in Switzerland, for nine dates between 1946 and 2005 using the most popular software packages, and compared the results regarding bundle adjustment and final DTM quality. The results suggest that by using SfM it is possible to produce DTMs of similar quality as with conventional photogrammetry. Higher point cloud density and less noise allow a higher ground resolution of the final DTM, and the time effort from the user is 3–6 times smaller, while the controls of the commercial software packages Agisoft PhotoScan (Version 1.2; Agisoft, St. Petersburg, Russia) and Pix4Dmapper (Version 3.0; Pix4D, Lausanne, Switzerland) are limited in comparison to ERDAS photogrammetry. SfM performs less reliably when few images with little overlap are processed. Even though SfM facilitates the largely automated production of high quality DTMs, the user is not exempt from a thorough quality check, at best with reference data where available. The resulting DTM time series revealed an average change in surface elevation at the glacier tongue of −67.0 ± 5.3 m. The spatial pattern of changes over time reflects the influence of flow dynamics and the melt of clean ice and that under debris cover. With continued technological advances, we expect to see an increasing use of SfM in glaciology for a variety of purposes, also in processing archival aerial imagery. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Remote Sensing 9 10 1021 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
structure-from-motion stereo photogrammetry high mountain terrain archival aerial images digital terrain model glacier elevation change Science Q |
spellingShingle |
structure-from-motion stereo photogrammetry high mountain terrain archival aerial images digital terrain model glacier elevation change Science Q Nico Mölg Tobias Bolch Structure-from-Motion Using Historical Aerial Images to Analyse Changes in Glacier Surface Elevation |
topic_facet |
structure-from-motion stereo photogrammetry high mountain terrain archival aerial images digital terrain model glacier elevation change Science Q |
description |
The application of structure-from-motion (SfM) to generate digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from different image sources has strongly increased, the major reason for this being that processing is substantially easier with SfM than with conventional photogrammetry. To test the functionality in a demanding environment, we applied SfM and conventional photogrammetry to archival aerial images from Zmuttgletscher, a mountain glacier in Switzerland, for nine dates between 1946 and 2005 using the most popular software packages, and compared the results regarding bundle adjustment and final DTM quality. The results suggest that by using SfM it is possible to produce DTMs of similar quality as with conventional photogrammetry. Higher point cloud density and less noise allow a higher ground resolution of the final DTM, and the time effort from the user is 3–6 times smaller, while the controls of the commercial software packages Agisoft PhotoScan (Version 1.2; Agisoft, St. Petersburg, Russia) and Pix4Dmapper (Version 3.0; Pix4D, Lausanne, Switzerland) are limited in comparison to ERDAS photogrammetry. SfM performs less reliably when few images with little overlap are processed. Even though SfM facilitates the largely automated production of high quality DTMs, the user is not exempt from a thorough quality check, at best with reference data where available. The resulting DTM time series revealed an average change in surface elevation at the glacier tongue of −67.0 ± 5.3 m. The spatial pattern of changes over time reflects the influence of flow dynamics and the melt of clean ice and that under debris cover. With continued technological advances, we expect to see an increasing use of SfM in glaciology for a variety of purposes, also in processing archival aerial imagery. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nico Mölg Tobias Bolch |
author_facet |
Nico Mölg Tobias Bolch |
author_sort |
Nico Mölg |
title |
Structure-from-Motion Using Historical Aerial Images to Analyse Changes in Glacier Surface Elevation |
title_short |
Structure-from-Motion Using Historical Aerial Images to Analyse Changes in Glacier Surface Elevation |
title_full |
Structure-from-Motion Using Historical Aerial Images to Analyse Changes in Glacier Surface Elevation |
title_fullStr |
Structure-from-Motion Using Historical Aerial Images to Analyse Changes in Glacier Surface Elevation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Structure-from-Motion Using Historical Aerial Images to Analyse Changes in Glacier Surface Elevation |
title_sort |
structure-from-motion using historical aerial images to analyse changes in glacier surface elevation |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9101021 https://doaj.org/article/23f9c2a55fd249b3be6b012d8f36e84c |
genre |
glacier |
genre_facet |
glacier |
op_source |
Remote Sensing, Vol 9, Iss 10, p 1021 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/10/1021 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs9101021 https://doaj.org/article/23f9c2a55fd249b3be6b012d8f36e84c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9101021 |
container_title |
Remote Sensing |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
1021 |
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1766010014686773248 |