Adrian Luckman

A Reconciled Estimate of Ice-Sheet Mass Balance

Warming and Melting Mass loss from the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica account for a large fraction of global sea-level rise. Part of this loss is because of the effects of warmer air temperatures, and another because of the rising ocean temperatures to which they are being exposed. Joughin et al. (p. 1172) review how ocean-ice interactions are impacting ice sheets and discuss the possible ways that exposure of floating ice shelves and grounded ice margins are subject to the influences of warming ocean currents. Estimates of the mass balance of the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica have differed greatly—in some cases, not even agreeing about whether there is a net loss or a net gain—making it more difficult to project accurately future sea-level change. Shepherd et al. (p. 1183) combined data sets produced by satellite altimetry, interferometry, and gravimetry to construct a more robust ice-sheet mass balance for the period between 1992 and 2011. All major regions of the two ice sheets appear to be losing mass, except for East Antarctica. All told, mass loss from the polar ice sheets is contributing about 0.6 millimeters per year (roughly 20% of the total) to the current rate of global sea-level rise. The mass balance of the polar ice sheets is estimated by combining the results of existing independent techniques. We combined an ensemble of satellite altimetry, interferometry, and gravimetry data sets using common geographical regions, time intervals, and models of surface mass balance and glacial isostatic adjustment to estimate the mass balance of Earth’s polar ice sheets. We find that there is good agreement between different satellite methods—especially in Greenland and West Antarctica—and that combining satellite data sets leads to greater certainty. Between 1992 and 2011, the ice sheets of Greenland, East Antarctica, West Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula changed in mass by –142 ± 49, +14 ± 43, –65 ± 26, and –20 ± 14 gigatonnes year−1, respectively. Since 1992, the polar ice sheets have contributed, on average, 0.59 ± 0.20 millimeter year−1 to the rate of global sea-level rise.

Glacier motion estimation using SAR offset-tracking procedures

Two image-to-image patch offset techniques for estimating feature motion between satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are discussed. Intensity tracking, based on patch intensity cross-correlation optimization, and coherence tracking, based on patch coherence optimization, are used to estimate the movement of glacier surfaces between two SAR images in both slant-range and azimuth direction. The accuracy and application range of the two methods are examined in the case of the surge of Monacobreen in Northern Svalbard between 1992 and 1996. Offset-tracking procedures of SAR images are an alternative to differential SAR interferometry for the estimation of glacier motion when differential SAR interferometry is limited by loss of coherence, i.e. in the case of rapid and incoherent flow and of large acquisition time intervals between the two SAR images. In addition, an offset-tracking procedure in the azimuth direction may be combined with differential SAR interferometry in the slant-range direction in order to retrieve a two-dimensional displacement map when SAR data of only one orbit configuration are available.

Rapid and synchronous ice‐dynamic changes in East Greenland

Two major outlet glaciers in East Greenland have suddenly begun to accelerate and retreat. The speeds of Kangerdlugssuaq and Helheim remained steady during the 1990s despite progressive and substantial thinning, but have abruptly increased within the last two years, more than doubling ice flux to the ocean. Had it been an isolated example, the comparable 1998 speed-up of Jakobshavn IsbrA¦ in West Greenland might have been explained simply by its chance retreat past a pinning point. Now that two further Greenland outlets have exhibited similar behavior, a common process seems likely. A remarkable correspondence in the inter-annual patterns of speed and ice-front variation between Kangerdlugssuaq and Helheim implies a significant sensitivity to regional environmental factors. The period of continued warming and thinning appears to have primed these glaciers for a step-change in dynamics not included in current models. We should expect further Greenland outlet glaciers to follow suit. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

A study of the relationship between radar backscatter and regenerating tropical forest biomass for spaceborne SAR instruments

Abstract The relationship between mean backscattering coefficient, as measured by spaeebome SAR instruments, and the areal density of above-ground biomass in regenerating tropical forest is investigated for a study area in the central Amazon basin. Measurements of tree height, diameter, and species composition were made in 1994 in the Tapajos region of Pard State in Brazil in order to estimate the biomass density in 15 widely distributed sample plots. These plots were chosen so as to characterize homogeneous forest areas representing a range of ages of regeneration from new regrowth to mature forest. The mean backscattering coefficients of these forest areas, as measured by SAR instruments on the ERS-1 and JERS-1 satellites and by SIR-C on the Space Shuttle, was determined so that its dependence on the biomass density of regenerating forest at different radar wavelengths and polarizations could be quantified. Results confirm the findings of similar studies of different types of forest, and of radar backscatter models, that the longer wavelength (L-band) SAR imagery may be used to discriminate between different levels of forest biomass up to a certain threshold and that cross polarized baekscatter is more sensitive to changes in biomass density. The shorter wavelength (C-band) SAR imagery is limited to differentiating between vegetation and bare soil when it is dry. The biomass density limit of around 60 tonnes per hectare, above which the L-band baekscatter shows no further sensitivity to increased biomass density, suggests that spaceborne SAR imagery is suitable for estimating the biomass density and determining the extent of cleared and regenerating forest in tropical regions.

Flood boundary delineation from Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery using a statistical active contour model

Flood extent maps derived from remotely sensed data can provide distributed validation data for hydraulic models of fluvial flow, and can be used for flood relief management and to develop spatially accurate hazard maps. A statistical active contour model is used to delineate a flood from the first European Remote Sensing satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (ERS-1 SAR) imagery as a region of homogeneous speckle statistics. The segmentation uses both local tone and texture measures and is capable of accurate feature boundary representation. The results are assessed by comparison with simultaneous aerial photography, the SAR segmentation scheme classifying 75% by area of the shoreline region correctly. Seventy per cent of the shoreline coincides with the ground data to within 20 m. The main error is due to unflooded vegetation giving similar radar returns to open water.

Tropical Forest Biomass Density Estimation Using JERS-1 SAR : Seasonal Variation, Confidence Limits, and Application to Image Mosaics

Abstract This study describes the development of a semiempirical model for the retrieval of above-ground biomass density of regenerating tropical forest using JERS-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The magnitude and variability of the response of the L-band SAR to above-ground biomass density was quantified using field data collected at Tapajos in central Amazonia and imagery from a series of dates. A simple backscatter model was fitted to this response and validated using image and field data acquired independently at Manaus, 500 km to the west of Tapajos. The sources of variability in biomass density and SAR backscatter were investigated so as to determine confidence limits for the subsequent retrieval of biomass density using the model. This analysis suggested that only three broad classes of regenerating forest biomass density may be positively distinguished. While the backscatter appears to saturate at around 60 tonnes per hectare, the biomass limit for retrieval purposes which is tolerant to both speckle and image texture is only 31 tonnes per hectare. The spatial distribution of biomass density in central Amazonia was estimated by applying the model to a mosaic of 90 JERS-1 images. A favorable comparison of this distribution to a map of regeneration derived from NOAA AVHRR imagery suggested that L-band SAR will provide a useful method of monitoring tropical forests on a regional scale.

Large-Scale Mapping of Boreal Forest in SIBERIA using ERS Tandem Coherence and JERS Backscatter Data

Siberias boreal forests represent an economically and ecologically precious resource, a significant part of which is not monitored on a regular basis. Synthetic aperture radars (SARs), with their sensitivity to forest biomass, offer mapping capabilities that could provide valuable up-to-date information, for example about fire damage or logging activity. The European Commission SIBERIA project had the aim of mapping an area of approximately 1 million km2 in Siberia using SAR data from two satellite sources: the tandem mission of the European Remote Sensing Satellites ERS-1/2 and the Japanese Earth Resource Satellite JERS-1. Mosaics of ERS tandem interferometric coherence and JERS backscattering coefficient show the wealth of information contained in these data but they also show large differences in radar response between neighbouring images. To create one homogeneous forest map, adaptive methods which are able to account for brightness changes due to environmental effects were required. In this paper an adaptive empirical model to determine growing stock volume classes using the ERS tandem coherence and the JERS backscatter data is described. For growing stock volume classes up to 80 m3/ha, accuracies of over 80% are achieved for over a hundred ERS frames at a spatial resolution of 50 m.

Quantification of Everest region glacier velocities between 1992 and 2002, using satellite radar interferometry and feature tracking

Quincey, D. J., Luckman, A., Benn, D. (2009). Quantification of Everest-region glacier velocities between 1992 and 2002, using satellite radar interferometry and feature tracking. Journal of Glaciology, 55(192): 596-606. Sponsorship: Knowledge Transfer Project No. 3742

Ocean forcing of glacier retreat in the western Antarctic Peninsula

The heat is on Rising surface air temperatures are understood to cause glacial melting, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the ocean also has a strong impact. Cook et al. studied glaciers that drain the Antarctic Peninsula and found a strong correlation between mid-depth ocean temperatures and glacier-front changes along the peninsulas western coastline. Glaciers in the south, which are exposed to warmer waters, have undergone significant retreat, while those in the northwest, which terminate in cooler waters, have not retreated as much or as uniformly. Thus, ocean-induced melting appears to be the main cause of glacial retreat in the region. Science, this issue p. 283 Warm ocean water is eroding glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula. In recent decades, hundreds of glaciers draining the Antarctic Peninsula (63° to 70°S) have undergone systematic and progressive change. These changes are widely attributed to rapid increases in regional surface air temperature, but it is now clear that this cannot be the sole driver. Here, we identify a strong correspondence between mid-depth ocean temperatures and glacier-front changes along the ~1000-kilometer western coastline. In the south, glaciers that terminate in warm Circumpolar Deep Water have undergone considerable retreat, whereas those in the far northwest, which terminate in cooler waters, have not. Furthermore, a mid-ocean warming since the 1990s in the south is coincident with widespread acceleration of glacier retreat. We conclude that changes in ocean-induced melting are the primary cause of retreat for glaciers in this region.

Calving rates at tidewater glaciers vary strongly with ocean temperature

Rates of ice mass loss at the calving margins of tidewater glaciers (frontal ablation rates) are a key uncertainty in sea level rise projections. Measurements are difficult because mass lost is replaced by ice flow at variable rates, and frontal ablation incorporates sub-aerial calving, and submarine melt and calving. Here we derive frontal ablation rates for three dynamically contrasting glaciers in Svalbard from an unusually dense series of satellite images. We combine ocean data, ice-front position and terminus velocity to investigate controls on frontal ablation. We find that frontal ablation is not dependent on ice dynamics, nor reduced by glacier surface freeze-up, but varies strongly with sub-surface water temperature. We conclude that calving proceeds by melt undercutting and ice-front collapse, a process that may dominate frontal ablation where submarine melt can outpace ice flow. Our findings illustrate the potential for deriving simple models of tidewater glacier response to oceanographic forcing.