Surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data for an Arctic glacier
Models of glacier surface melt are commonly used in studies of glacier mass balance and runoff; however, with limited data available, most models are validated based on ablation stakes and data from automatic weather stations (AWSs). The technological advances of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4822acd09eb74511b14ddc5b2cadadbb 2023-05-15T13:12:04+02:00 Surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data for an Arctic glacier E. A. Bash B. J. Moorman 2020-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-549-2020 https://doaj.org/article/4822acd09eb74511b14ddc5b2cadadbb EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.the-cryosphere.net/14/549/2020/tc-14-549-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-14-549-2020 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/4822acd09eb74511b14ddc5b2cadadbb The Cryosphere, Vol 14, Pp 549-563 (2020) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-549-2020 2022-12-31T01:07:44Z Models of glacier surface melt are commonly used in studies of glacier mass balance and runoff; however, with limited data available, most models are validated based on ablation stakes and data from automatic weather stations (AWSs). The technological advances of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and structure from motion (SfM) have made it possible to measure glacier surface melt in detail over larger portions of a glacier. In this study, we use melt measured using SfM processing of UAV imagery to assess the performance of an energy balance (EB) and enhanced temperature index (ETI) melt model in two dimensions. Imagery collected over a portion of the ablation zone of Fountain Glacier, Nunavut, on 21, 23, and 24 July 2016 was previously used to determine distributed surface melt. An AWS on the glacier provides some measured inputs for both models as well as an additional check on model performance. Modelled incoming solar radiation and albedo derived from UAV imagery are also used as inputs for both models, which were used to estimate melt from 21 to 24 July 2016. Both models estimate total melt at the AWS within 16 % of observations (4 % for ETI). Across the study area the median model error, calculated as the difference between modelled and measured melt (EB = −0.064 m, ETI = −0.050 m), is within the uncertainty of the measurements. The errors in both models were strongly correlated to the density of water flow features on the glacier surface. The relation between water flow and model error suggests that energy from surface water flow contributes significantly to surface melt on Fountain Glacier. Deep surface streams with highly asymmetrical banks are observed on Fountain Glacier, but the processes leading to their formation are missing in the model assessed here. The failure of the model to capture flow-induced melt would lead to significant underestimation of surface melt should the model be used to project future change. Article in Journal/Newspaper albedo Arctic Nunavut The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Fountain Glacier ENVELOPE(161.633,161.633,-77.683,-77.683) Nunavut The Cryosphere 14 2 549 563 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 E. A. Bash B. J. Moorman Surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data for an Arctic glacier |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Models of glacier surface melt are commonly used in studies of glacier mass balance and runoff; however, with limited data available, most models are validated based on ablation stakes and data from automatic weather stations (AWSs). The technological advances of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and structure from motion (SfM) have made it possible to measure glacier surface melt in detail over larger portions of a glacier. In this study, we use melt measured using SfM processing of UAV imagery to assess the performance of an energy balance (EB) and enhanced temperature index (ETI) melt model in two dimensions. Imagery collected over a portion of the ablation zone of Fountain Glacier, Nunavut, on 21, 23, and 24 July 2016 was previously used to determine distributed surface melt. An AWS on the glacier provides some measured inputs for both models as well as an additional check on model performance. Modelled incoming solar radiation and albedo derived from UAV imagery are also used as inputs for both models, which were used to estimate melt from 21 to 24 July 2016. Both models estimate total melt at the AWS within 16 % of observations (4 % for ETI). Across the study area the median model error, calculated as the difference between modelled and measured melt (EB = −0.064 m, ETI = −0.050 m), is within the uncertainty of the measurements. The errors in both models were strongly correlated to the density of water flow features on the glacier surface. The relation between water flow and model error suggests that energy from surface water flow contributes significantly to surface melt on Fountain Glacier. Deep surface streams with highly asymmetrical banks are observed on Fountain Glacier, but the processes leading to their formation are missing in the model assessed here. The failure of the model to capture flow-induced melt would lead to significant underestimation of surface melt should the model be used to project future change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
E. A. Bash B. J. Moorman |
author_facet |
E. A. Bash B. J. Moorman |
author_sort |
E. A. Bash |
title |
Surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data for an Arctic glacier |
title_short |
Surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data for an Arctic glacier |
title_full |
Surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data for an Arctic glacier |
title_fullStr |
Surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data for an Arctic glacier |
title_full_unstemmed |
Surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data for an Arctic glacier |
title_sort |
surface melt and the importance of water flow – an analysis based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (uav) data for an arctic glacier |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-549-2020 https://doaj.org/article/4822acd09eb74511b14ddc5b2cadadbb |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(161.633,161.633,-77.683,-77.683) |
geographic |
Arctic Fountain Glacier Nunavut |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Fountain Glacier Nunavut |
genre |
albedo Arctic Nunavut The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
albedo Arctic Nunavut The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 14, Pp 549-563 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/14/549/2020/tc-14-549-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-14-549-2020 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/4822acd09eb74511b14ddc5b2cadadbb |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-549-2020 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
549 |
op_container_end_page |
563 |
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