HR: 0830h
AN: C11C-0828    [PDF]
TI: Velocities along Byrd Glacier, East Antarctica, derived from Automatic Feature Tracking
AU: * Stearns, L A
EM: leigh.stearns@maine.edu
AF: Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 5790 Bryand Global Science Ctr, Orono, ME 04469 United States
AU: Hamilton, G S
EM: gordon.hamilton@maine.edu
AF: Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 5790 Bryand Global Science Ctr, Orono, ME 04469 United States
AB: Automatic feature tracking techniques are applied to recently acquired ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) imagery in order to determine the velocity field of Byrd Glacier, East Antarctica. The software IMCORR tracks the displacement of surface features (crevasses, drift mounds) in time sequential images, to produce the velocity field. Due to its high resolution, ASTER imagery is ideally suited for detecting small features changes. The produced result is a dense array of velocity vectors, which allows more thorough characterization of glacier dynamics. Byrd Glacier drains approximately 20.5 km3 of ice into the Ross Ice Shelf every year. Previous studies have determined ice velocities for Byrd Glacier by using photogrammetry, field measurements and manual feature tracking. The most recent velocity data is from 1986 and, as evident in the West Antarctic ice streams, substantial changes in velocity can occur on decadal time scales. The application of ASTER-based velocities fills this time lapse, and increased temporal resolution allows for a more complete analysis of Byrd Glacier. The ASTER-derived ice velocities are used in updating mass balance and force budget calculations to assess the stability of Byrd Glacier. Ice thickness information from BEDMAP, surface slopes from the OSUDEM and a compilation of accumulation rates are used to complete the calculations.
DE: 1640 Remote sensing
DE: 1827 Glaciology (1863)
DE: 1863 Snow and ice (1827)
DE: 9310 Antarctica
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting