Mapping of debris-covered glaciers in the Garhwal Himalayas using ASTER DEMs and thermal data

Mapping of debris-covered glaciers using remote-sensing techniques is recognized as one of the greatest challenges for generating glacier inventories and automated glacier change analysis. The use of visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) bands does not provide sufficient continual information to detect debris-covered ice with remote-sensing data. This article presents a semi-automated mapping method for the debris-covered glaciers of the Garhwal Himalayas based on an Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) digital elevation model (DEM) and thermal data. Morphometric parameters such as slope, plan curvature and profile curvature were computed by means of the ASTER DEM and organized in similar surface groups using cluster analysis. A thermal mask was generated from a single band of an ASTER thermal image, while the clean-ice glaciers were identified using a band ratio based on ASTER bands 3 and 4. Vector maps were drawn up from the output of the cluster analysis, the thermal mask and the band ratio mask for the preparation of the final outlines of the debris-covered glaciers using geographic information system (GIS) overlay operations. The semi-automated mapped debris-covered glacier outline of Gangotri Glacier derived from 2006 ASTER data varied by about 5% from the manually outlined debris-covered glacier area of the Cartosat-1 high-resolution image from the same year. By contrast, outlines derived from the method developed using the 2001 ASTER DEM and Landsat thermal data varied by only 0.5% from manually digitized outlines based on Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS)-1C panchromatic (PAN) data. We found that post-depositional sedimentation by debris flow/mass movement was a great hindrance in the fully automated mapping of debris-covered glaciers in the polygenetic environment of the Himalayas. In addition, the resolution of ASTER stereo data and thermal band data limits the automated mapping of small debris-covered glaciers with adjacent end moraine. However, the results obtained for Gangotri Glacier confirm the strong potential of the approach presented.

[1]  T. Albert,et al.  Evaluation of Remote Sensing Techniques for Ice-Area Classification Applied to the Tropical Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru , 2002 .

[2]  Jeffrey S. Kargel,et al.  Remote sensing and GIS technology in the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) Project , 2007, Comput. Geosci..

[3]  Tobias Bolch,et al.  Glacier mapping: a review with special reference to the Indian Himalayas , 2009 .

[4]  Andreas Kääb,et al.  Perspectives on the production of a glacier inventory from multispectral satellite data in Arctic Canada: Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island , 2005, Annals of Glaciology.

[5]  D. Dobhal,et al.  Inventory of Glacier Basins in Himachal Himalaya , 1996 .

[6]  Aparna Shukla,et al.  Synergistic approach for mapping debris-covered glaciers using optical–thermal remote sensing data with inputs from geomorphometric parameters , 2010 .

[7]  A. Brenning.  Benchmarking classifiers to optimally integrate terrain analysis and multispectral remote sensing in automatic rock glacier detection , 2009 .

[8]  Koji Fujita,et al.  Spatial Distribution of Thermal Properties on Debris-Covered Glaciers in the Himalayas Derived From ASTER Data , 2006 .

[9]  E. Forgy.  Cluster analysis of multivariate data : efficiency versus interpretability of classifications , 1965 .

[10]  Andreas Kääb,et al.  Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Climate Change Impacts on Glacier- and Permafrost-Related Hazards , 2006 .

[11]  Jeffrey S. Kargel,et al.  Multispectral imaging contributions to global land ice measurements from space , 2005 .

[12]  Mark Cutler,et al.  Using ASTER satellite and ground-based surface temperature measurements to derive supraglacial debris cover and thickness patterns on Miage Glacier (Mont Blanc Massif, Italy) , 2008 .

[13]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Glaciers and Glaciation , 1997 .

[14]  Michael P. Bishop,et al.  Terrain analysis and data modeling for alpine glacier mapping , 2001 .

[15]  Franz J. Meyer,et al.  Using L-band SAR coherence to delineate glacier extent , 2010 .

[16]  Anil V. Kulkarni,et al.  Alarming retreat of Parbati glacier, Beas basin, Himachal Pradesh , 2005 .

[17]  P. Chevallier,et al.  Remote sensing estimates of glacier mass balances in the Himachal Pradesh (Western Himalaya, India) , 2007 .

[18]  T. Bolch,et al.  Landsat-based inventory of glaciers in western Canada, 1985-2005 , 2010 .

[19]  Roger G. Barry,et al.  Recommendations for the compilation of glacier inventory data from digital sources , 2009, Annals of Glaciology.

[20]  Gürcan Gürgen,et al.  DEBRIS-COVERED GLACIERS AND ROCK GLACIERS , 2010 .

[21]  John M. Reynolds,et al.  On the formation of supraglacial lakes on debris- covered glaciers , 2000 .

[22]  Anil V. Kulkarni,et al.  Estimation of recent glacial variations in baspa basin using remote sensing technique , 2003 .

[23]  Manfred F. Buchroithner,et al.  Identification of glacier motion and potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Mt. Everest region/Nepal using spaceborne imagery , 2008 .

[24]  R. Finkel,et al.  Style and timing of glacial and paraglacial sedimentation in a monsoon-influenced high Himalayan environment, the upper Bhagirathi Valley, Garhwal Himalaya , 2004 .

[25]  Andreas Kääb,et al.  © Author(s) 2006. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Natural Hazards , 2022 .

[26]  Thierry Toutin,et al.  ASTER DEMs for geomatic and geoscientific applications: a review , 2008 .

[27]  Mauri S. Pelto.  Mass balance of adjacent debris-covered and clean glacier ice in the North Cascades, Washington , 2000 .

[28]  Susanne Schmidt,et al.  Fluctuations of Raikot Glacier during the past 70 years: a case study from the Nanga Parbat massif, northern Pakistan , 2009 .

[29]  Douglas I. Benn,et al.  Rapid growth of a supraglacial lake, Ngozumpa Glacier, Khumbu Himal, Nepal , 2000 .

[30]  William F. Manley,et al.  Evaluating digital elevation models for glaciologic applications: An example from Nevado Coropuna, Peruvian Andes , 2007 .

[31]  Manfred F. Buchroithner,et al.  Automated delineation of debris-covered glaciers based on ASTER data , 2007 .

[32]  N. Glasser,et al.  Sedimentological, geomorphological and dynamic context of debris-mantled glaciers, Mount Everest (Sagarmatha) region, Nepal , 2008 .

[33]  Claude Martin,et al.  Geomorphological evidences of retreat of the Gangotri glacier and its characteristics , 2001 .

[34]  A. Kääb,et al.  The new Landsat-derived glacier inventory for Jotunheimen, Norway, and deduced glacier changes since the 1930s , 2008 .

[35]  Jeffrey A. Olsenholler,et al.  Geomorphometry of Cerro Sillajhuay (Andes, Chile/Bolivia): Comparison of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from ASTER Remote Sensing Data and Contour Maps , 2005 .

[36]  Andreas Kääb,et al.  Landsat-derived glacier inventory for Jotunheimen, Norway, and deduced glacier changes since the 1930s , 2008 .

[37]  Andrew G. Fountain,et al.  Glacier change (1958-1998) in the North Cascades National Park Complex, Washington, USA , 2006 .

[38]  C. Mayer,et al.  Ice ablation and meteorological conditions on the debris-covered area of Baltoro glacier, Karakoram, Pakistan , 2006, Annals of Glaciology.

[39]  Andreas Kääb,et al.  The new remote-sensing-derived Swiss glacier inventory: I. Methods , 2002, Annals of Glaciology.

[40]  J. Komori.  Recent expansions of glacial lakes in the Bhutan Himalayas , 2008 .

[41]  K. Hewitt.  Rock avalanches that travel onto glaciers and related developments, Karakoram Himalaya, Inner Asia , 2009 .

[42]  M. Bierkens,et al.  Climate Change Will Affect the Asian Water Towers , 2010, Science.

[43]  Leif Eric Mattson,et al.  The influence of a debris cover on the midsummer discharge of Dome Glacier, Canadian Rocky Mountains , 2000 .

[44]  Andreas Kääb,et al.  Combining satellite multispectral image data and a digital elevation model for mapping debris-covered glaciers , 2004 .

[45]  M. Shahgedanova,et al.  Recent glacier retreat in the Caucasus Mountains, Russia, and associated increase in supraglacial debris cover and supra-/proglacial lake development , 2007, Annals of Glaciology.

[46]  R. W. Sidjak.  Glacier mapping of the Illecillewaet icefield, British Columbia, Canada, using Landsat TM and digital elevation data , 1999 .

[47]  C. Thorne,et al.  Quantitative analysis of land surface topography , 1987 .

[48]  Influence of Sub-Debris Thawing on Ablation and Runoff of the Djankuat Glacier in the Caucasus , 2002 .

[49]  Betty L. Hickman,et al.  SPOT Panchromatic Imagery and Neural Networks for Information Extraction in a Complex Mountain Environment , 1999 .

[50]  Yves Arnaud,et al.  Decadal changes in glacier parameters in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, derived from remote sensing , 2008, Journal of Glaciology.

[51]  Thierry Toutin,et al.  Review article: Geometric processing of remote sensing images: models, algorithms and methods , 2004 .

[52]  Satoru Yamaguchi,et al.  Morphological evolution of the debris cover on Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, between 1978 and 1995 , 2000 .

[53]  N. Glasser,et al.  Optical remote sensing techniques in high-mountain environments: application to glacial hazards , 2005 .

[54]  G. Philip,et al.  Glacial mapping using landsat thematic mapper data: A case study in parts of gangotri glacier, NW himalaya , 1998 .

[55]  T. Bolch,et al.  Planimetric and volumetric glacier changes in the Khumbu Himal, Nepal, since 1962 using Corona, Landsat TM and ASTER data , 2008 .

[56]  Anil V. Kulkarni,et al.  Glacial retreat in Himalaya using Indian remote sensing satellite data , 2006, SPIE Asia-Pacific Remote Sensing.

[57]  J. Menzies.  Modern glacial environments: processes, dynamics, and sediments , 1995 .

[58]  Roberto Ranzi,et al.  Comparing the opportunities of Landsat-TM and Aster data for monitoring a debris covered glacier in the Italian Alps within the GLIMS project , 2002, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[59]  M. Bishop,et al.  SPOT multispectral analysis for producing supraglacial debris‐load estimates for Batura glacier, Pakistan , 1995 .

[60]  M. Fort,et al.  Glaciers and mass wasting processes: their influence on the shaping of the Kali Gandaki valley (higher Himalaya of Nepal) , 2000 .

[61]  Roberto Ranzi,et al.  Use of multispectral ASTER images for mapping debris-covered glaciers within the GLIMS project , 2004, IGARSS 2004. 2004 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[62]  L. Owen,et al.  Himalayan glacial sedimentary environments: a framework for reconstructing and dating the former extent of glaciers in high mountains , 2002 .

[63]  Michael P. Bishop,et al.  Debris‐covered glaciers and rock glaciers in the nanga parbat himalaya, pakistan , 2000 .

[64]  Tobias Bolch,et al.  Glacier mapping in high mountains using DEMs, Landsat and ASTER data , 2005 .

[65]  A. Shukla,et al.  Instruments and Methods Estimation of debris cover and its temporal variation using optical satellite sensor data: a case study in Chenab basin, Himalaya , 2009 .

[66]  Siri Jodha Singh Khalsa,et al.  Challenges and recommendations in mapping of glacier parameters from space: results of the 2008 Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) workshop, Boulder, Colorado, USA , 2009, Annals of Glaciology.

[67]  A. Kääb.  Monitoring high-mountain terrain deformation from repeated air- and spaceborne optical data: examples using digital aerial imagery and ASTER data , 2002 .

[68]  Rajat Gupta,et al.  ASTER ratio indices for supraglacial terrain mapping , 2009 .