Ulisses Franz Bremer

An improved topographic database for King George Island: compilation, application and outlook

A new topographic database for King George Island, one of the most visited areas in Antarctica, is presented. Data from differential GPS surveys, gained during the summers 1997/98 and 1999/2000, were combined with up to date coastlines from a SPOT satellite image mosaic, and topographic information from maps as well as from the Antarctic Digital Database. A digital terrain model (DTM) was generated using ARC/INFO GIS. From contour lines derived from the DTM and the satellite image mosaic a satellite image map was assembled. Extensive information on data accuracy, the database as well as on the criteria applied to select place names is given in the multilingual map. A lack of accurate topographic information in the eastern part of the island was identified. It was concluded that additional topographic surveying or radar interferometry should be conducted to improve the data quality in this area. In three case studies, the potential applications of the improved topographic database are demonstrated. The first two examples comprise the verification of glacier velocities and the study of glacier retreat from the various input data-sets as well as the use of the DTM for climatological modelling. The last case study focuses on the use of the new digital database as a basic GIS (Geographic Information System) layer for environmental monitoring and management on King George Island.

Recent trends in annual snowline variations in the northern wet outer tropics: case studies from southern Cordillera Blanca, Peru

This paper describes the changes in the annual maximum snowlines of a selected set of mountain glaciers at the southern end of the Cordillera Blanca between 1984 and 2015 using satellite images. Furthermore, we analysed the existing glacier records in the Cordillera Blanca since the last glacial maximum to understand the evolution of glaciers in this region over a few centuries. There was a rise in the snowline altitude of glaciers in this region since the late 1990s with a few small glacier advances. Historical to the present El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) records were also analysed to understand whether there was a teleconnection between the glacier fluctuations in the region and the phase changes of ENSO and PDO. We also assessed the variations in three important climatic parameters that influence the glacier retreat—temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity—over a few decades. We calculated the anomalies as well as the seasonal changes in these variables since the mid-twentieth century. There was an increase in temperature during this period, and the decrease in precipitation was not so prominent compared with the temperature rise. There was an exceptionally higher increase in relative humidity since the early 2000s, which is relatively higher than that expected due to the observed rate of warming, and this increase in humidity is believed to be the reason behind the unprecedented rise in the snowline altitudes since the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Variations in annual snowline and area of an ice-covered stratovolcano in the Cordillera Ampato, Peru, using remote sensing data (1986–2014)

This research focuses on the recent variations in the annual snowline and the total glaciated area of the Nevado Coropuna in the Cordillera Ampato, Peru. Maximum snowline altitude towards the end of dry season is taken as a representative of the equilibrium line altitude of the year, which is an indirect measurement of the annual mass balance. We used Landsat and IRS LISS3 images during the last 30 years due to its better temporal coverage of the study site. It is found that there was a decrease of 26.92% of the glaciated area during 1986–2014. We calculated the anomalies in precipitation and temperature in this region and also tried to correlate the changes in glacier parameters with the combined influence of El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and pacific decadal oscillation (PDO). It is concluded that the snowline of Nevado Coropuna has been fluctuated during ENSO, and maximum fluctuations were observed when ENSO and PDO were in phase.

Recent Changes Occurred in the Terminus of the Debris- covered Bilafond Glacier in the Karakoram Himalayas Using Remotely Sensed Images and Digital Elevation Models (1978-2011)

Recent changes occurred in terminus of the debris-covered Bilafond Glacier in the Karakoram Range in the Himalayas, Northern Pakistan was investigated in this research. Landsat MSS, TM and ETM+ images were used for this study. Digital elevation models derived from ASTER GDEM and SRTM were also utilized. Visible, infrared and thermal infrared channels were utilized in order to get accurate glacier change maps. Three methods were tried to map this debris-covered glacier in this research. The glacier has been mapped successfully and the changes in the glacier terminus from 1978 to 2011 have been calculated. Manual, semi-automatic and thermal methods were found to give similar results. It was found that the glacier has undergone serious ablation during this period despite of the fact that many of the larger glaciers in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain regions in the Upper Indus Basin were reported to be expanding. The terminus has been moved back about 600 meters during this period and there was an abrupt change in the glacier terminus during 1990–2002. We propose that debris thickness is not the only factor that influences the glacier ablation but the altitude of the debris-covered glacier as well. Many glaciers in the Karakoram region reported to be expanding were having higher altitudes compared to the study area.

Influence of ENSO and PDO on mountain glaciers in the outer tropics: case studies in Bolivia

This paper emphasize on the observational investigation of an ice-covered volcano and two glaciated mountains in the Central Andes from 1984 to 2011. Annual snowlines of the Nevado Sajama in the Cordillera Occidental and the Nevado Cololo and the Nevado Huanacuni in the Cordillera Apolobamba in Bolivia were calculated using remote sensing data. Landsat TM, Landsat ETM+, and LISS-III images taken during the end of dry season were used in this study. Changes in the highest annual snowline during May–September is used an indirect measure of the changes in the equilibrium line altitude of the glaciers in the outer tropics. We tried to understand the combined influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on the variations in the annual snowline altitude of the selected glaciers. Meteorological data in the form of gridded datasets were used for calculating the anomalies in precipitation and temperature during the study period. It is found that the glaciated areas were fluctuated with the occurrence of warm and cold phase of ENSO but the magnitude of the influence of ENSO is observed to be controlled by the phase changes of PDO. Snowline of the Nevado Sajama fluctuated heavily when cold and warm phases of ENSO occur during the cold and warm regimes of PDO, respectively. Nevado Cololo and Nevado Huanacuni are showing a continuous retreating trend during the same period. This clearly indicates that the changes in the Pacific SST patterns have more influence on glaciers in the Cordillera Occidental compared with those in the Cordillera Oriental of the Bolivian Andes.

Recent variations of supraglacial lakes on the Baltoro Glacier in the central Karakoram Himalaya and its possible teleconnections with the pacific decadal oscillation

This study discusses the formation and variations of supraglacial lakes on the Baltoro glacier system in the central Karakoram Himalaya during the last four decades. We mapped supraglacial lakes on the Baltoro Glacier from 1978 to 2014 using Landsat MSS, TM, ETM + and LCDM images. Most of the glacial lakes were formed or expanded during the late 1970s–2008. After 2008, the total number and the area of glacial lakes were found to be lesser compared to previous years. We tried to find any teleconnections exists between the glacial lake changes in this region and the pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), which entered its prolonged warm regime in the late 1970s and again to its cold regime in 2008, based on observational investigation. The decrease in the number and area of the supraglacial lakes after 2008 is hypothesised to be linked with the recent cold phase of PDO.

Un análisis comparativo del comportamiento diferencial de los glaciares en los Andes Tropicales usando teledetección

En este trabajo de investigacion, se analizo el comportamiento de los glaciares de los Andes Tropicales en un clima cambiante; para esto se emplearon imagenes satelitales multiespectrales de diversas fuentes en conjunto con datos meteorologicos. El estudio se enfoco en glaciares representativos de cuatro zonas climaticas diferentes, a saber: tropicos interiores, tropicos exteriores humedos del norte, tropicos exteriores humedos del sur y tropicos exteriores secos. Se calcularon los cambios en la linea de nieve maxima anual para el periodo de 1985―2015, y tambien los cambios decenales en el area entre 1975 y 2015. Ademas, se analizo la tasa de retroceso de los glaciares durante la ocurrencia de El Nino―Oscilacion del Sur y la Oscilacion Decenal del Pacifico. Se observo que los glaciares tanto de los tropicos interiores como de los tropicos exteriores se sometieron a retroceso durante todo el periodo de estudio, con enfasis entre 1975 y 1997, lapso coincidente con el periodo de calentamiento del Pacifico. Se observaron variaciones excepcionales en la altitud de la linea de nieve cuando se produce un evento de El Nino durante la fase calida de la Oscilacion Decenal del Pacifico. Se observo que no hay senales significativas del hiato reciente en el calentamiento global, excepto en los tropicos exteriores secos, localizados cerca de la region subtropical.

Cosmo-SkyMed X-band SAR data for classification of ice-free areas and glacier facies on Potter Peninsula, King George Island Antarctica

The climate change phenomena have been influencing terrestrial and glacial ecosystems around the planet. Maritime Antarctica is especially sensitive to these climate variations and over the last 50 years increasing global air temperatures have caused extensive glacial retreat. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential use of the SAR technology in monitoring the surface dynamics of the Potter Peninsula, King George Island, maritime Antarctica. An image generated by the SAR satellite COSMO-SkyMed, obtained on 2 February 2011, was used to extract the backscattering values of targets on the surface for further processing and classification, using a supervised statistic classifier of maximum likelihood for the determination of the surface classes. The average backscattering of water bodies presented high similarity, which made its separation unattainable. On the other hand, the surface classes’ bare ice and wet snow over the glacier presented distinct average backscattering values, which allowed an efficient and precise classification using only this parameter. The classification process showed satisfactory results for periglacial environments, presenting high fidelity to the field data.

Relationship between solar radiation and surface distribution of vegetation in Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island, Maritime Antarctica

ABSTRACT The aim of this work is to produce a simplified vegetation map of ice-free areas of the Fildes Peninsula (FP) and Ardley Island (AI) thought object-oriented classification using a QuickBird satellite image and to evaluate the influence of the global solar radiation (GSR) over the vegetation distribution. The vegetation data were generated from multiresolution segmentation using the panchromatic and infrared layers, and for the classification we calculated the normalized vegetative difference index (NVDI) and the green NVDI. Two classes were created – Lichen and Moss Cushion SubFormation and Moss Subformation – with 48 vegetation samples collected on surveys during the austral summers of 2008 and 2009. We used a kappa index to evaluate the classification efficiency using 100 sampled points obtained in austral summer of 2013. The GSR was estimated, and in order to evaluate the effect of meteorological phenomena and cloudless, we measured the GSR using a net radiometer model CNR4 installed in FP between 2014 and 2016. The estimate of GSR was done for seasons of 2015, in order to estimate the light compensation point and the saturation point for the plant communities in FP and AI. The kappa index was 0.73 and the global accuracy was 0.78, showing consistency between the classification and ground truth. The area was covered by vegetation in FP was 16.7% and in AI is 59.1%. The vegetation cover is distributed differently at FP and AI, and our results suggest GSR plays an important role in vegetation distribution and these tendencies could be related to greater GSR demand by mosses when compared to lichens.

Perspectivas para o gerenciamento ambiental da baía do almirantado, ilha Rei George, Antártica

Este trabalho descreve o uso inicial de um sistema de informacoes geograficas (SIG) para auxiliar no gerenciamento da AreaAntartica Especialmente Gerenciada (AAEG) da baia do Almirantado, exemplificado mediante os resultados preliminares obtidos. Seguindorecomendacoes do Protocolo ao Tratado Antartico sobre Protecao ao Meio Ambiente (Protocolo de Madrid), foi utilizada informacao geoespacialintegrada em SIG para demarcar os limites da AAEG. A area foi recalculada em 362 km2 (antes fora estimada em 370 km2). Combase na sobreposicao de informacoes na peninsula Keller (no norte da baia do Almirantado), foi representado espacialmente o local onde,seguindo as definicoes do Protocolo de Madrid, havia sido detectado impacto ambiental menor ou transitorio no trabalho de campo. Apossibilidade de utilizacao do SIG recem-implantado no gerenciamento ambiental da baia do Almirantado cresce a medida que surge anecessidade de escolha de areas aptas a ocupacao humana, bem como da avaliacao do impacto ambiental causado pelas atividades na area.