The contribution of Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) images compared with the single-channel SAR in terms of temporal scene characterization has been found and described to add valuable information in the literature. However, despite a number of recent studies focusing on single polarized glacier monitoring, the potential of polarimetry to estimate the surface velocity of glaciers...

In situ measurements of flow and stratification in the vicinity of the Erebus Glacier Tongue, a 12 km long floating Antarctic glacier, show the significant influence of the glacier. Three ADCPs (75, 300, and 600 kHz) were deployed close (<50 m) to the sidewall of the glacier in order to capture near-field flow distortion. Scalar (temperature and conductivity) and shear microstructure profiling ...

Recent work has highlighted the sensitivity of marine-terminating glaciers to decadal-scale changes in the ocean–climate system in parts of East Antarctica. However, compared to Greenland, West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, little is known about recent glacier change and potential cause(s), with several regions yet to be studied in detail. In this paper, we map the terminus positions ...

In 1985, 1987 and 1988, we measured deformation of bore holes in the ablation zone of Storglaciaren. A different hole was used each year. Deformation profiles were determined for four consecutive time periods between mid-July and early September. All three holes were in an area where the glacier lies in an overdeepened part of the bed, up-glacier from a riegel. The first hole was approximately ...

We used ground-penetrating radar (GPR), GPS and glaciochemistry to evaluate melt regimes and ice depths, important variables for mass-balance and ice-volume studies, of Upper Yentna Glacier, Upper Kahiltna Glacier and the Mount Hunter ice divide, Alaska. We show the wet, percolation and dry snow zones located below 2700ma.s.l., at 2700 to 3900ma.s.l. and above 3900ma.s.l., respectively. We succ...

Due to the scarcity of field observations and geodetic measurements in catchments in the Karakoram Mountains in Western China, obtaining precipitation data for the high mountains involves large uncertainties and difficulties. In this study, we used a functional relationship between the annual glacier accumulation and summer temperature at the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) to derive precipitat...

This paper reviews data on glacier mass balance together with extra metadata on topography and climate to put the data into context. The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates of global average glacier mass balance may not be much different from simple averages. A more mathematically correct approach is to analyse long and continuous mass-balance series measured in diff...

[1] Glacierized change in the Himalayas affects riverdischarge, hydro-energy and agricultural production, and Glacial Lake Outburst Flood potential, but its quantification and extent of impacts remains highly uncertain. Here we present conservative, comprehensive and quantitative predictions for glacier area and meltwater flux changes in Bhutan, monsoonal Himalayas. In particular, we quantify t...

Monitoring glacier changes in remote Arctic regions are strongly facilitated by satellite data. This is especially true for the Russian Arctic where recently increased optical and SAR satellite imagery (Landsat 8 OLI, Sentinel 1/2), and digital elevation models (TanDEM-X, ArcticDEM) are becoming available. These datasets offer new possibilities to create high-quality glacier inventories. Here, ...

Jökulhlaups in Iceland may originate from marginal or subglacial sources of water melted by atmospheric processes, permanent geothermal heat or volcanic eruptions. Glacier-volcano interactions produce meltwater that either drains toward the glacier margin or accumulates in subglacial lakes. Accumulated meltwater drains periodically in jökulhlaups from the subglacial lakes and occasionally durin...