Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery
The fracturing of glaciers and ice shelves in Antarctica influences their dynamics and stability. Hence, data on the evolving distribution of crevasses are required to better understand the evolution of the ice sheet, though such data have traditionally been difficult and time-consuming to generate....
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1983/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4421-2023 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/4421/2023/ |
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ftubristolcris:oai:research-information.bris.ac.uk:publications/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 2024-04-28T07:54:41+00:00 Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery Surawy-Stepney, Trystan Hogg, Anna e. Cornford, Stephen l. Hogg, David C. 2023-10-19 https://hdl.handle.net/1983/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4421-2023 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/4421/2023/ eng eng https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Surawy-Stepney , T , Hogg , A E , Cornford , S L & Hogg , D C 2023 , ' Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery ' , The Cryosphere , vol. 17 , no. 10 , pp. 4421-4445 . https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4421-2023 article 2023 ftubristolcris https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4421-2023 2024-04-10T00:17:48Z The fracturing of glaciers and ice shelves in Antarctica influences their dynamics and stability. Hence, data on the evolving distribution of crevasses are required to better understand the evolution of the ice sheet, though such data have traditionally been difficult and time-consuming to generate. Here, we present an automated method of mapping crevasses on grounded and floating ice with the application of convolutional neural networks to Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar backscatter data. We apply this method across Antarctica to images acquired between 2015 and 2022, producing a 7.5-year record of composite fracture maps at monthly intervals and 50 m spatial resolution and showing the distribution of crevasses around the majority of the ice sheet margin. We develop a method of quantifying changes to the density of ice shelf fractures using a time series of crevasse maps and show increases in crevassing on Thwaites and Pine Island ice shelves over the observational period, with observed changes elsewhere in the Amundsen Sea dominated by the advection of existing crevasses. Using stress fields computed using the BISICLES ice sheet model, we show that much of this structural change has occurred in buttressing regions of these ice shelves, indicating a recent and ongoing link between fracturing and the developing dynamics of the Amundsen Sea sector. Article in Journal/Newspaper Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Pine Island The Cryosphere University of Bristol: Bristol Research The Cryosphere 17 10 4421 4445 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Bristol: Bristol Research |
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ftubristolcris |
language |
English |
description |
The fracturing of glaciers and ice shelves in Antarctica influences their dynamics and stability. Hence, data on the evolving distribution of crevasses are required to better understand the evolution of the ice sheet, though such data have traditionally been difficult and time-consuming to generate. Here, we present an automated method of mapping crevasses on grounded and floating ice with the application of convolutional neural networks to Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar backscatter data. We apply this method across Antarctica to images acquired between 2015 and 2022, producing a 7.5-year record of composite fracture maps at monthly intervals and 50 m spatial resolution and showing the distribution of crevasses around the majority of the ice sheet margin. We develop a method of quantifying changes to the density of ice shelf fractures using a time series of crevasse maps and show increases in crevassing on Thwaites and Pine Island ice shelves over the observational period, with observed changes elsewhere in the Amundsen Sea dominated by the advection of existing crevasses. Using stress fields computed using the BISICLES ice sheet model, we show that much of this structural change has occurred in buttressing regions of these ice shelves, indicating a recent and ongoing link between fracturing and the developing dynamics of the Amundsen Sea sector. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Surawy-Stepney, Trystan Hogg, Anna e. Cornford, Stephen l. Hogg, David C. |
spellingShingle |
Surawy-Stepney, Trystan Hogg, Anna e. Cornford, Stephen l. Hogg, David C. Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery |
author_facet |
Surawy-Stepney, Trystan Hogg, Anna e. Cornford, Stephen l. Hogg, David C. |
author_sort |
Surawy-Stepney, Trystan |
title |
Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery |
title_short |
Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery |
title_full |
Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery |
title_fullStr |
Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery |
title_sort |
mapping antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1983/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4421-2023 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/4421/2023/ |
genre |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Pine Island The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Pine Island The Cryosphere |
op_source |
Surawy-Stepney , T , Hogg , A E , Cornford , S L & Hogg , D C 2023 , ' Mapping Antarctic crevasses and their evolution with deep learning applied to satellite radar imagery ' , The Cryosphere , vol. 17 , no. 10 , pp. 4421-4445 . https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4421-2023 |
op_relation |
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/f231c2fd-46cc-4973-a7d6-f757f4555cc7 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4421-2023 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
4421 |
op_container_end_page |
4445 |
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