Articles | Volume 18, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
16 Jul 2024
Research article |
| 16 Jul 2024
| 16 Jul 2024
Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data
Livia Piermattei
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, 8057, Switzerland
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0371, Norway
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
Michael Zemp
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, 8057, Switzerland
Christian Sommer
Institut für Geographie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, 91058, Germany
Fanny Brun
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, IGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
Matthias H. Braun
Institut für Geographie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, 91058, Germany
Liss M. Andreassen
Section for Glaciers, Ice and Snow, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Oslo, 0301, Norway
Joaquín M. C. Belart
National Land Survey of Iceland, Akranes, 300, Iceland
Etienne Berthier
Université de Toulouse, LEGOS (CNES/CNRS/IRD/UT3), Toulouse, 31000, France
Atanu Bhattacharya
Department of Earth Sciences & Remote Sensing, JIS University, Kolkata, 700109, India
Laura Boehm Vock
Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, 55057, USA
Tobias Bolch
Institute of Geodesy, Graz University of Technology, Graz, 8010, Austria
Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9AL, UK
Amaury Dehecq
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, IGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
Inés Dussaillant
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, 8057, Switzerland
Daniel Falaschi
Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9AL, UK
Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales, CCT-Mendoza CONICET, Mendoza, 5500, Argentina
Caitlyn Florentine
U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, Montana, 59715, USA
Dana Floricioiu
Remote Sensing Technology Institute, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, 82234, Germany
Christian Ginzler
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
Gregoire Guillet
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0371, Norway
Romain Hugonnet
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195-2700, USA
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zürich, Zürich, 8057, Switzerland
Matthias Huss
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zürich, Zürich, 8057, Switzerland
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, 1700, Switzerland
Andreas Kääb
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0371, Norway
Owen King
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
Christoph Klug
Department of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
Friedrich Knuth
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195-2700, USA
Lukas Krieger
Remote Sensing Technology Institute, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, 82234, Germany
Jeff La Frenierre
Department of Geography, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, 56082, USA
Robert McNabb
School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, UK
Christopher McNeil
U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska, 99508, USA
Rainer Prinz
Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
Louis Sass
U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska, 99508, USA
Thorsten Seehaus
Institut für Geographie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, 91058, Germany
David Shean
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195-2700, USA
Désirée Treichler
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0371, Norway
Anja Wendt
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Geodesy and Glaciology, Munich, 80539, Germany
Ruitang Yang
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0371, Norway
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Cited
9 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Community estimate of global glacier mass changes from 2000 to 2023 M. Zemp et al. 10.1038/s41586-024-08545-z
- Weakening of regional contrasts in glacier changes around the Tarim Basin in the early 21st century X. Xu et al. 10.1038/s41612-025-01173-y
- Geodetic glacier mass balance in the Karakoram (2011–2019) from TanDEM-X: An InSAR DEM differencing framework S. Li & I. Hajnsek 10.1016/j.rse.2025.115023
- Variabilities in climate sensitivities and mass balance of four High Mountain Asian glaciers K. Mukherjee et al. 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.105044
- Investigating the influence of changing ice surfaces on gravity wave formation impacting glacier boundary layer flow with large-eddy simulations B. Goger et al. 10.5194/wcd-6-345-2025
- Equilibrium line altitudes, accumulation areas and the vulnerability of glaciers in Alaska L. Zeller et al. 10.1017/jog.2024.65
- Advancements in Remote Sensing for Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods S. Nurakynov et al. 10.3390/geosciences15060211
- Comparing GPR with ice thickness and thermal models: Insights from two polythermal glaciers in West Greenland E. Forte et al. 10.1017/jog.2025.10067
- Elevation bias due to penetration of spaceborne radar signal on Grosser Aletschgletscher, Switzerland J. Bannwart et al. 10.1017/jog.2024.37
8 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Community estimate of global glacier mass changes from 2000 to 2023 M. Zemp et al. 10.1038/s41586-024-08545-z
- Weakening of regional contrasts in glacier changes around the Tarim Basin in the early 21st century X. Xu et al. 10.1038/s41612-025-01173-y
- Geodetic glacier mass balance in the Karakoram (2011–2019) from TanDEM-X: An InSAR DEM differencing framework S. Li & I. Hajnsek 10.1016/j.rse.2025.115023
- Variabilities in climate sensitivities and mass balance of four High Mountain Asian glaciers K. Mukherjee et al. 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.105044
- Investigating the influence of changing ice surfaces on gravity wave formation impacting glacier boundary layer flow with large-eddy simulations B. Goger et al. 10.5194/wcd-6-345-2025
- Equilibrium line altitudes, accumulation areas and the vulnerability of glaciers in Alaska L. Zeller et al. 10.1017/jog.2024.65
- Advancements in Remote Sensing for Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods S. Nurakynov et al. 10.3390/geosciences15060211
- Comparing GPR with ice thickness and thermal models: Insights from two polythermal glaciers in West Greenland E. Forte et al. 10.1017/jog.2025.10067
1 citations as recorded by crossref.
Latest update: 30 Oct 2025
Short summary
Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world. In the present study, we compared the results produced from two different types of satellite data between different research groups and against validation measurements from aeroplanes. We found a large spread between individual results but showed that the group ensemble can be used to reliably estimate glacier elevation changes and related errors from satellite data.
Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world....
