Use of Seasat synthetic aperture radar and Landsat multispectral scanner subsystem data for Alaskan glaciology studies

• Main Authors: Hall, D. K., Ormsby, J. P.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1983
• Subjects: 46; glacier; glaciers; Alaska
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19830043069

Three Seasat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and three Landsat multispectral scanner subsystem (MSS) scenes of three areas of Alaska were analyzed for hydrological information. The areas were: the Dease Inlet in northern Alaska and its oriented or thaw lakes, the Ruth and Tokositna valley glaciers in south central Alaska, and the Malaspina piedmont glacier on Alaska's southern coast. Results for the first area showed that the location and identification of some older remnant lake basins were more easily determined in the registered data using an MSS/SAR overlay than in either SAR or MSS data alone. Separately, both SAR and MSS data were useful for determination of surging glaciers based on their distinctive medial moraines, and Landsat data were useful for locating the glacier firn zone. For the Malaspina Glacier scenes, the SAR data were useful for locating heavily crevassed ice beneath glacial debris, and Landsat provided data concerning the extent of the debris overlying the glacier.