Remote sensing and GIS application in glacier ,sea ice and snow cover studies

1. Remote Sensing And
GIS Applications In
Glacier And Snow
Cover Studies
By
Swetha A
5WD12CGI15

2. Introduction
•Snow : Atmospheric water vapor frozen into ice crystals and
falling in light white flakes or lying on the ground as a white
layer.
•Glacier : are large masses of snow, recrystallized ice and rock
debris that accumulate in great quantities and begin to flow
outwards and downwards under the pressure of their own
weight
•Snow cover : ground covered with snow showing some depth
•Sea ice : Sea ice is simply frozen ocean water .Found in
remote polar oceans

3. What is the cryosphere?
• Some places on Earth are so cold that water is a solid—ice or
snow. Scientists call these frozen places of our planet the
"cryosphere." (snow , ice, glacier, sea ice, ice selves ice bergs,
frozen ground)
• The Arctic
• Antarctica
• And In between (snow on Mount Kilimanjaro is in
Africa )

4. Types of Glaciers
• Ice Sheets
• Ice Shelves
• Ice Caps
• Ice Streams
• Ice fields
• Mountain Glaciers
• Valley Glaciers
• Piedmont Glaciers
• Cirque Glaciers
• Hanging Glaciers
• Tidewater Glaciers

5. Types of snow cover
• New snow
• Firn
• Névé
• Old snow
• Seasonal snow
• Perennial snow
• Powder snow

6. Distribution of glaciers and ice around the world.
• The GLIMS
project (Global
Land Ice
Measurements
from Space) is
currently creating
a unique glacier
inventory storing
critical
information about
the extent and
rates of change of
the world's
estimated 160,000
glaciers.

8. Antarctica
Greenland

9. Snow Cover (1 month - Terra/MODIS)
April 1, 2013 00:00-May 1, 2013 00:00

10. Arctic Sea
Ice
Maps of
September ice
extent for 1980,
2007, 2008,
2009, 2010 and
2011

11. Arctic Sea Ice
Acquired September
14, 1984 Acquired September 13, 2012

12. • These snow cover maps are made
from observations collected by the
Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on
NASA’s Terra satellite.
• Snow cover values range from
medium blue (greater than 0 percent)
to white (100 percent).
• Landmasses that do not sustain snow
cover and places where MODIS did
not collect data are gray or black.
• Because MODIS relies on visible light
to assess snow cover, the sensor
cannot collect data over the highest
latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere
during winter when no sunlight
reaches those regions.

13. MODIS ( Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer )
• Is a key instrument aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites.
• Terra was launched on December 18, 1999, and Aqua was launched on
May 4, 2002
• Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south
across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over
the equator in the afternoon.
• Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth's surface
every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of
wavelengths
• 1,000-m, 500-m, and 250-m resolution spectral bands
• Works in visible region .

14. • The Moderate
Resolution
Imaging
Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on
NASA’s Aqua
satellite capture
this view of the
Chesapeake Bay
region

15. • Lake Michigan,
South. The true
color image (left)
while the false color
ice cover image
(right) is derived
from the
MODIS/Terra
Snow Cover. Image
courtesy of NSIDC.
(National Snow and
Ice Data Center)

16. • Patagonian glaciers, including Los
Glaciares National Park and
the Moreno Glacier. Chile and
Argentina.
• The Vatnajokull glacier is the
largest in Iceland.
• Glacial moraine near Zermatt,
Switzerland.
Glaciers on Landsat GeoCover Satellite Images

21. GISGIS ofof Qinghai-Tibet PlateauQinghai-Tibet Plateau

22. GIS ofGIS of thethe Region alongRegion along thethe
Qinghai-Tibet highway and railQinghai-Tibet highway and rail

23. Chinese glacier

26. Baffin Island towards east with ASTER image draped over ASTER-derived DEM.
Snow cover

27. Normalized Difference
Snow Index (NDSI)

30. GIS TOOL TO COMPARE SIMULATED AND
REMOTELY SENSED SNOW-COVER
OBSERVATIONS
• A GIS (geographic information system)-based Snow-Cover Comparison
Tool (SCCT)

31. Snow and Glacier Melt Run

32. The Himalayas abut or cross five countries: Bhutan, India, Nepal,
China, and Pakistan

36. Karakoram region, and in the Greater Himalayan Range

37. Thickening Of Karakoram Glaciers
In Himalayas
• Map of Khurdopin Glacier, a surge-type glacier, during
2000-2008. The yellow polygon shows the area where the
thinning rate (and thus the ablation rate) is averaged.
PHOTO: CNES 2008 / Distribution Spot Image

38. Do glaciers and snow affect
people?
• Glaciers Provide Drinking Water
• Glaciers Irrigate Crops
• Glaciers Help Generate Hydroelectric Power
• Recreation
 Skiing and snowboarding
 Snowshoeing
 Snowmobiling

39. Are glaciers and snow
dangerous?
• Flooding Caused By A Glacier
• Avalanches From Glaciers
• The Threat Of Icebergs
• Snow Avalanches
• Ice Storm
• Blizzard
• Thunder Snow

40. Snow & glacier melting due to
• Global warming(0.32° increase)
• Greenhouse effect
• Climatic change
• Land use changes
• Deforestation (increase in atmospheric methane )

41. Conclusion
• Polar Satellites
• 518A - Preserving Glaciers and Polar Regions
(Iceland, Finland and Chile )
• Monitoring Of Snow Cover
• Instrument development
• Seasonal changes monitoring
• Microwave Images

42. References
• National Snow And Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
• Snow Cover And Glacier Change Study In Nepalese Himalaya
Using Remote Sensing And Geographic Information System
By Arun Bhakta Shrestha1 And Sharad Prasad Joshi2
• Mapping Glacier Variations From 1990 To 2006in The
Central Mongolian Altai By Brandon Scott Krumwiede
• Monitoring Receding Of Glaciers And In North-eastern
Pakistan Through Geo-informatics Techniques By Umair Bin
Zamir

43. The end
Any queries ?