Analysis of glaciers and geomorphology on Svalbard using multitemporal ERS-1 SAR images

The all-weather capability makes synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interesting with respect to glaciological studies in remote Arctic areas. The aim of this project was to investigate how the European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS) SAR backscatter from certain glaciological and geomorphological structures varied with time and find out at which time of the year a SAR acquisition will give the best result when observing certain features. Five ERS-1 SAR images, one from the winter and four from the summer, were acquired over the northwestern part of Svalbard, Norway. Ground measurements and observations were made at the same time as one of the summer SAR acquisitions. The ground data as well as meteorological recordings were used to analyze the SAR backscatter changes in the multitemporal data set. A zonation on the glaciers representing snow, firn/superimposed ice, and glacier ice was detected in the winter image only. The equilibrium line could also be derived from this SAR image. Information on drainage patterns, distribution of wet and dry snow areas, and the occurrence of crevasses was derived from the summer images. Changes in snow cover distribution was identified in the summer images. The form and position of ice-cored moraines, fossil beach ridges, and river channels were identified in all images. Early summer images showed the highest potential for identification of landforms. Small-scale landforms, such as patterned ground and tundra polygons, could not be identified.