Articles | Volume 18, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5551-2024
© 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-18-5551-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
29 Nov 2024
Research article |
| 29 Nov 2024
| 29 Nov 2024
The Pléiades Glacier Observatory: high-resolution digital elevation models and ortho-imagery to monitor glacier change
Etienne Berthier
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Université de Toulouse, LEGOS (CNES/CNRS/IRD/UT3), Toulouse, France
Invited contribution by Etienne Berthier, recipient of the EGU Julia and Johannes Weertman Medal 2023.
Jérôme Lebreton
Université de Toulouse, LEGOS (CNES/CNRS/IRD/UT3), Toulouse, France
Delphine Fontannaz
Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France
Steven Hosford
Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France
Joaquín Muñoz-Cobo Belart
National Land Survey of Iceland, Akranes, Iceland
Fanny Brun
IGE, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, France
Liss M. Andreassen
Section for Glaciers, Ice and Snow, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Oslo, Norway
Brian Menounos
Geography Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
Geological Survey of Canada Pacific, Natural Resources Canada, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada
Hakai Institute, Campbell River, BC, Canada
Charlotte Blondel
Université de Toulouse, LEGOS (CNES/CNRS/IRD/UT3), Toulouse, France
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Andrew G. Jones, Shaun A. Marcott, Andrew L. Gorin, Tori M. Kennedy, Jeremy D. Shakun, Brent M. Goehring, Brian Menounos, Douglas H. Clark, Matias Romero, and Marc W. Caffee
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Mountain glaciers today are fractions of their sizes 140 years ago, but how do these sizes compare to the past 11,000 years? We find that four glaciers in the United States and Canada have reversed a long-term trend of growth and retreated to positions last occupied thousands of years ago. Notably, each glacier occupies a unique position relative to its long-term history. We hypothesize that unequal modern retreat has caused the glaciers to be out of sync relative to their Holocene histories.
Léo C. P. Martin, Sebastian Westermann, Michele Magni, Fanny Brun, Joel Fiddes, Yanbin Lei, Philip Kraaijenbrink, Tamara Mathys, Moritz Langer, Simon Allen, and Walter W. Immerzeel
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Adam C. Hawkins, Brian Menounos, Brent M. Goehring, Gerald Osborn, Ben M. Pelto, Christopher M. Darvill, and Joerg M. Schaefer
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Our study developed a record of glacier and climate change in the Mackenzie and Selwyn mountains of northwestern Canada over the past several hundred years. We estimate temperature change in this region using several methods and incorporate our glacier record with models of climate change to estimate how glacier volume in our study area has changed over time. Models of future glacier change show that our study area will become largely ice-free by the end of the 21st century.
Fanny Brun, Owen King, Marion Réveillet, Charles Amory, Anton Planchot, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Kévin Fourteau, Julien Brondex, Marie Dumont, Christoph Mayer, Silvan Leinss, Romain Hugonnet, and Patrick Wagnon
The Cryosphere, 17, 3251–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, 2023
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Sara E. Darychuk, Joseph M. Shea, Brian Menounos, Anna Chesnokova, Georg Jost, and Frank Weber
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We use synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) and optical observations to map snowmelt timing and duration on the watershed scale. We found that Sentinel-1 SAR time series can be used to approximate snowmelt onset over diverse terrain and land cover types, and we present a low-cost workflow for SAR processing over large, mountainous regions. Our approach provides spatially distributed observations of the snowpack necessary for model calibration and can be used to monitor snowmelt in ungauged basins.
Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries, Shashank Bhushan, Mylène Jacquemart, César Deschamps-Berger, Etienne Berthier, Simon Gascoin, David E. Shean, Dan H. Shugar, and Andreas Kääb
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3309–3327, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022, 2022
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On 7 February 2021, a large rock–ice avalanche occurred in Chamoli, Indian Himalaya. The resulting debris flow swept down the nearby valley, leaving over 200 people dead or missing. We use a range of satellite datasets to investigate how the collapse area changed prior to collapse. We show that signs of instability were visible as early 5 years prior to collapse. However, it would likely not have been possible to predict the timing of the event from current satellite datasets.
Jonathan P. Conway, Jakob Abermann, Liss M. Andreassen, Mohd Farooq Azam, Nicolas J. Cullen, Noel Fitzpatrick, Rianne H. Giesen, Kirsty Langley, Shelley MacDonell, Thomas Mölg, Valentina Radić, Carleen H. Reijmer, and Jean-Emmanuel Sicart
The Cryosphere, 16, 3331–3356, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3331-2022, 2022
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We used data from automatic weather stations on 16 glaciers to show how clouds influence glacier melt in different climates around the world. We found surface melt was always more frequent when it was cloudy but was not universally faster or slower than under clear-sky conditions. Also, air temperature was related to clouds in opposite ways in different climates – warmer with clouds in cold climates and vice versa. These results will help us improve how we model past and future glacier melt.
Christophe Kinnard, Olivier Larouche, Michael N. Demuth, and Brian Menounos
The Cryosphere, 16, 3071–3099, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3071-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3071-2022, 2022
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This study implements a physically based, distributed glacier mass balance model in a context of sparse direct observations. Carefully constraining model parameters with ancillary data allowed for accurately reconstructing the mass balance of Saskatchewan Glacier over a 37-year period. We show that the mass balance sensitivity to warming is dominated by increased melting and that changes in glacier albedo and air humidity are the leading causes of increased glacier melt under warming scenarios.
Brent M. Goehring, Brian Menounos, Gerald Osborn, Adam Hawkins, and Brent Ward
Geochronology, 4, 311–322, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-311-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-311-2022, 2022
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We explored surface exposure dating with two nuclides to date two sets of moraines from the Yukon Territory and explain the reasoning for the observed ages. Results suggest multiple processes, including preservation of nuclides from a prior exposure period, and later erosion of the moraines is required to explain the data. Our results only allow for the older moraines to date to Marine Isotope Stage 3 or 4 and the younger moraines to date to the very earliest Holocene.
Dhiraj Pradhananga, John W. Pomeroy, Caroline Aubry-Wake, D. Scott Munro, Joseph Shea, Michael N. Demuth, Nammy Hang Kirat, Brian Menounos, and Kriti Mukherjee
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2875–2894, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2875-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2875-2021, 2021
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This paper presents hydrological, meteorological, glaciological and geospatial data of Peyto Glacier Basin in the Canadian Rockies. They include high-resolution DEMs derived from air photos and lidar surveys and long-term hydrological and glaciological model forcing datasets derived from bias-corrected reanalysis products. These data are crucial for studying climate change and variability in the basin and understanding the hydrological responses of the basin to both glacier and climate change.
Andreas Kääb, Mylène Jacquemart, Adrien Gilbert, Silvan Leinss, Luc Girod, Christian Huggel, Daniel Falaschi, Felipe Ugalde, Dmitry Petrakov, Sergey Chernomorets, Mikhail Dokukin, Frank Paul, Simon Gascoin, Etienne Berthier, and Jeffrey S. Kargel
The Cryosphere, 15, 1751–1785, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, 2021
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Hardly recognized so far, giant catastrophic detachments of glaciers are a rare but great potential for loss of lives and massive damage in mountain regions. Several of the events compiled in our study involve volumes (up to 100 million m3 and more), avalanche speeds (up to 300 km/h), and reaches (tens of kilometres) that are hard to imagine. We show that current climate change is able to enhance associated hazards. For the first time, we elaborate a set of factors that could cause these events.
Christian Vincent, Diego Cusicanqui, Bruno Jourdain, Olivier Laarman, Delphine Six, Adrien Gilbert, Andrea Walpersdorf, Antoine Rabatel, Luc Piard, Florent Gimbert, Olivier Gagliardini, Vincent Peyaud, Laurent Arnaud, Emmanuel Thibert, Fanny Brun, and Ugo Nanni
The Cryosphere, 15, 1259–1276, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1259-2021, 2021
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In situ glacier point mass balance data are crucial to assess climate change in different regions of the world. Unfortunately, these data are rare because huge efforts are required to conduct in situ measurements on glaciers. Here, we propose a new approach from remote sensing observations. The method has been tested on the Argentière and Mer de Glace glaciers (France). It should be possible to apply this method to high-spatial-resolution satellite images and on numerous glaciers in the world.
Vincent Vionnet, Christopher B. Marsh, Brian Menounos, Simon Gascoin, Nicholas E. Wayand, Joseph Shea, Kriti Mukherjee, and John W. Pomeroy
The Cryosphere, 15, 743–769, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-743-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-743-2021, 2021
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Mountain snow cover provides critical supplies of fresh water to downstream users. Its accurate prediction requires inclusion of often-ignored processes. A multi-scale modelling strategy is presented that efficiently accounts for snow redistribution. Model accuracy is assessed via airborne lidar and optical satellite imagery. With redistribution the model captures the elevation–snow depth relation. Redistribution processes are required to reproduce spatial variability, such as around ridges.
Yanbin Lei, Tandong Yao, Lide Tian, Yongwei Sheng, Lazhu, Jingjuan Liao, Huabiao Zhao, Wei Yang, Kun Yang, Etienne Berthier, Fanny Brun, Yang Gao, Meilin Zhu, and Guangjian Wu
The Cryosphere, 15, 199–214, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-199-2021, 2021
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Two glaciers in the Aru range, western Tibetan Plateau (TP), collapsed suddenly on 17 July and 21 September 2016, respectively, causing fatal damage to local people and their livestock. The impact of the glacier collapses on the two downstream lakes (i.e., Aru Co and Memar Co) is investigated in terms of lake morphology, water level and water temperature. Our results provide a baseline in understanding the future lake response to glacier melting on the TP under a warming climate.
Ethan Welty, Michael Zemp, Francisco Navarro, Matthias Huss, Johannes J. Fürst, Isabelle Gärtner-Roer, Johannes Landmann, Horst Machguth, Kathrin Naegeli, Liss M. Andreassen, Daniel Farinotti, Huilin Li, and GlaThiDa Contributors
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3039–3055, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3039-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3039-2020, 2020
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Knowing the thickness of glacier ice is critical for predicting the rate of glacier loss and the myriad downstream impacts. To facilitate forecasts of future change, we have added 3 million measurements to our worldwide database of glacier thickness: 14 % of global glacier area is now within 1 km of a thickness measurement (up from 6 %). To make it easier to update and monitor the quality of our database, we have used automated tools to check and track changes to the data over time.
César Deschamps-Berger, Simon Gascoin, Etienne Berthier, Jeffrey Deems, Ethan Gutmann, Amaury Dehecq, David Shean, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 14, 2925–2940, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2925-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2925-2020, 2020
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We evaluate a recent method to map snow depth based on satellite photogrammetry. We compare it with accurate airborne laser-scanning measurements in the Sierra Nevada, USA. We find that satellite data capture the relationship between snow depth and elevation at the catchment scale and also small-scale features like snow drifts and avalanche deposits. We conclude that satellite photogrammetry stands out as a convenient method to estimate the spatial distribution of snow depth in high mountains.
Cited articles
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Andreassen, L. M., Nagy, T., Kjøllmoen, B., and Leigh, J. R.: An inventory of Norway's glaciers and ice-marginal lakes from 2018–19 Sentinel-2 data, J. Glaciol., 68, 1085–1106, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.20, 2022.
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Błaszczyk, M., Ignatiuk, D., Grabiec, M., Kolondra, L., Laska, M., Decaux, L., Jania, J., Berthier, E., Luks, B., Barzycka, B., and Czapla, M.: Quality Assessment and Glaciological Applications of Digital Elevation Models Derived from Space-Borne and Aerial Images over Two Tidewater Glaciers of Southern Spitsbergen, Remote Sens.-Basel, 11, 1121, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11091121, 2019.
Brun, F., Buri, P., Miles, E. S., Wagnon, P., Steiner, J., Berthier, E., Ragettli, S., Kraaijenbrink, P., Immerzeel, W. W., and Pellicciotti, F.: Quantifying volume loss from ice cliffs on debris-covered glaciers using high resolution terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry, J. Glaciol., 62, 684–695, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.54, 2016.
Brun, F., Berthier, E., Wagnon, P., Kääb, A., and Treichler, D.: A spatially resolved estimate of High Mountain Asia glacier mass balances from 2000 to 2016, Nat. Geosci., 10, 668–673, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2999, 2017.
Deschamps-Berger, C., Gascoin, S., Berthier, E., Deems, J., Gutmann, E., Dehecq, A., Shean, D., and Dumont, M.: Snow depth mapping from stereo satellite imagery in mountainous terrain: evaluation using airborne laser-scanning data, The Cryosphere, 14, 2925–2940, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2925-2020, 2020.
Dussaillant, I., Berthier, E., and Brun, F.: Geodetic Mass Balance of the Northern Patagonian Icefield from 2000 to 2012 Using Two Independent Methods, Front. Earth Sci., 6, 8, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2018.00008, 2018.
ESA and Airbus: Copernicus DEM – Global and European Digital Elevation Model (COP-DEM), ESA, Copernicus [data set], https://doi.org/10.5270/ESA-c5d3d65, 2022.
Falaschi, D., Berthier, E., Belart, J. M. C., Bravo, C., Castro, M., Durand, M., and Villalba, R.: Increased mass loss of glaciers in Volcán Domuyo (Argentinian Andes) between 1962 and 2020, revealed by aerial photos and satellite stereo imagery, J. Glaciol., 69, 40–56, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.43, 2023a.
Falaschi, D., Bhattacharya, A., Guillet, G., Huang, L., King, O., Mukherjee, K., Rastner, P., Yao, T., and Bolch, T.: Annual to seasonal glacier mass balance in High Mountain Asia derived from Pléiades stereo images: examples from the Pamir and the Tibetan Plateau, The Cryosphere, 17, 5435–5458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, 2023b.
Franks, S. and Rengarajan, R.: Evaluation of Copernicus DEM and Comparison to the DEM Used for Landsat Collection-2 Processing, Remote Sens., 15, 2509, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15102509, 2023.
Gardelle, J., Berthier, E., Arnaud, Y., and Kääb, A.: Region-wide glacier mass balances over the Pamir-Karakoram-Himalaya during 1999–2011, The Cryosphere, 7, 1263–1286, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1263-2013, 2013.
Gleyzes, M. A., Perret, L., and Kubik, P.: Pléiades system architecture and main performances, Int. Arch. Photogramm., 39, 537–542, 2012.
GTN-G: GTN-G Glacier Regions. Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers, https://doi.org/10.5904/gtng-glacreg-2023-07, 2023.
Hirschmuller, H.: Stereo Processing by Semiglobal Matching and Mutual Information, IEEE T. Pattern Anal., 30, 328–341, 2008.
Holzer, N., Vijay, S., Yao, T., Xu, B., Buchroithner, M., and Bolch, T.: Four decades of glacier variations at Muztagh Ata (eastern Pamir): a multi-sensor study including Hexagon KH-9 and Pléiades data, The Cryosphere, 9, 2071–2088, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2071-2015, 2015.
Howat, I. M., Porter, C., Smith, B. E., Noh, M.-J., and Morin, P.: The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 13, 665–674, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-665-2019, 2019.
Hugonnet, R., McNabb, R., Berthier, E., Menounos, B., Nuth, C., Girod, L., Farinotti, D., Huss, M., Dussaillant, I., Brun, F., and Kääb, A.: Accelerated global glacier mass loss in the early twenty-first century, Nature, 592, 726–731, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03436-z, 2021.
Hugonnet, R., Brun, F., Berthier, E., Dehecq, A., Mannerfelt, E. S., Eckert, N., and Farinotti, D.: Uncertainty analysis of digital elevation models by spatial inference from stable terrain, IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl., 15, 6456–6472, https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2022.3188922, 2022.
Huss, M.: Density assumptions for converting geodetic glacier volume change to mass change, The Cryosphere, 7, 877–887, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-877-2013, 2013.
Kääb, A., Jacquemart, M., Gilbert, A., Leinss, S., Girod, L., Huggel, C., Falaschi, D., Ugalde, F., Petrakov, D., Chernomorets, S., Dokukin, M., Paul, F., Gascoin, S., Berthier, E., and Kargel, J. S.: Sudden large-volume detachments of low-angle mountain glaciers – more frequent than thought?, The Cryosphere, 15, 1751–1785, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, 2021.
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Loriaux, T. and Ruiz, L.: Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Supra-Glacial Ponds and Ice Cliffs on Verde Glacier, Chile, Front. Earth Sci., 9, 448, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.681071, 2021.
Małecki, J.: Recent contrasting behaviour of mountain glaciers across the European High Arctic revealed by ArcticDEM data, The Cryosphere, 16, 2067–2082, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2067-2022, 2022.
Marti, R., Gascoin, S., Berthier, E., de Pinel, M., Houet, T., and Laffly, D.: Mapping snow depth in open alpine terrain from stereo satellite imagery, The Cryosphere, 10, 1361–1380, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1361-2016, 2016.
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Paul, F., Frey, H., and Le Bris, R.: A new glacier inventory for the European Alps from Landsat TM scenes of 2003: Challenges and results, Ann. Glaciol., 52, 144–152, 2011.
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Sato, Y., Fujita, K., Inoue, H., Sunako, S., Sakai, A., Tsushima, A., Podolskiy, E. A., Kayastha, R., and Kayastha, R. B.: Ice Cliff Dynamics of Debris-Covered Trakarding Glacier in the Rolwaling Region, Nepal Himalaya, Front. Earth Sci., 9, 623623, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.623623, 2021.
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Short summary
Repeat elevation measurements are crucial for monitoring glacier health and to understand how glaciers affect river flows and sea level. Until recently, high-resolution elevation data were mostly available for polar regions and High Mountain Asia. Our project, the Pléiades Glacier Observatory, now provides high-resolution topographies of 140 glacier sites worldwide. This is a novel and open dataset to monitor the impact of climate change on glaciers at high resolution and accuracy.
Repeat elevation measurements are crucial for monitoring glacier health and to understand how...
