Automated classification of debris-covered glaciers combining optical, SAR and topographic data in an object-based environment

Remote Sensing of Environment

Volumn 170, Issue , 2015, Pages 372-387

  Robson, Benjamin Aubrey ^a   Nuth, Christopher ^b   Dahl, Svein Olaf ^a   Hölbling, Daniel ^c   Strozzi, Tazio ^d   Nielsen, Pål Ringkjøb ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN   (Norway)

^b UNIVERSITY OF OSLO   (Norway)

^c UNIVERSITY OF SALZBURG   (Austria)

^d GAMMA REMOTE SENSING   (Switzerland)

Author keywords

Debris covered glacier; Himalayas; Landsat 8; Object based image analysis; SAR coherence; Semi automatic classification

Indexed keywords

DEBRIS; IMAGE ANALYSIS; PIXELS; RADAR IMAGING; REMOTE SENSING; SATELLITE IMAGERY; SPACE-BASED RADAR;

DEBRIS COVERED GLACIERS; HIMALAYAS; LANDSAT; OBJECT BASED IMAGE ANALYSIS; SEMI-AUTOMATICS;

ICE;

EID: 84944065736     PISSN: 00344257     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2015.10.001     Document Type: Article

References (91)

1. Ageta Y., Higuchi K. Estimation of mass balance components of a summer-accumulation type glacier in the Nepal Himalaya. Geografiska Annaler Series a-Physical Geography 1984, 66:249-255.
2. Albert T.H. Evaluation of remote sensing techniques for ice-area classification applied to the tropical Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru. Polar Geography 2002, 26:210-226.
3. Alifu H., Tateishi R., Johnson B. A new band ratio technique for mapping debris-covered glaciers using Landsat imagery and a digital elevation model. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2015, 36:2063-2075.
4. Atwood D.K., Meyer F., Arendt A. Using L-band SAR coherence to delineate glacier extent. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing 2010, 36:S186-S195.
5. Bajracharya S., Shrestha B. The status of glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region 2011, ICIMOD, Kathmandu.
6. Bajracharya S.R., Maharjan S.B., Shrestha F. The status and decadal change of glaciers in Bhutan from the 1980s to 2010 based on satellite data. Annals of Glaciology 2014, 55:159-166.
7. Bajracharya S.R., Maharjan S.B., Shrestha F., Bajracharya O.R., Baidya S. Glacier status in Nepal and decadal change from 1980 to 2010 based on Landsat data 2014, ICIMOD, Kathmandu.
8. Bajracharya S.R., Maharjan S.B., Shrestha F., Guo W., Liu S., Immerzeel W., Shrestha B. The glaciers of the Hindu Kush Himalayas: current status and observed changes from the 1980s to 2010. International Journal of Water Resources Development 2015, 31:161-173.
9. Benn D.I., Evans D.J. Glaciers and glaciation 2010, Hodder Education.
10. Benn D.I., Owen L.A. The role of the Indian summer monsoon and the mid-latitude westerlies in Himalayan glaciation: review and speculative discussion. Journal of the Geological Society 1998, 155:353-363.
11. Benn D.I., Bolch T., Hands K., Gulley J., Luckman A., Nicholson L.I., Wiseman S. Response of debris-covered glaciers in the Mount Everest region to recent warming, and implications for outburst flood hazards. Earth-Science Reviews 2012, 114:156-174.
12. Benz U.C., Hofmann P., Willhauck G., Lingenfelder I., Heynen M. Multi-resolution, object-oriented fuzzy analysis of remote sensing data for GIS-ready information. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 2004, 58:239-258.
13. Bernard É, et al. Where does a glacier end? GPR measurements to identify the limits between valley slopes and actual glacier body. Application to the Austre Lovénbreen, Spitsbergen. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 2014, 27:100-108.
14. Berthier E., Vadon H., Baratoux D., Arnaud Y., Vincent C., Feigl K.L., Legresy B. Surface motion of mountain glaciers derived from satellite optical imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment 2005, 95:14-28.
15. Berthier E., Arnaud Y., Kumar R., Ahmad S., Wagnon P., Chevallier P. Remote sensing estimates of glacier mass balances in the Himachal Pradesh (Western Himalaya, India). Remote Sensing of Environment 2007, 108:327-338.
16. Berthier E., Schiefer E., Clarke G.K.C., Menounos B., Remy F. Contribution of Alaskan glaciers to sea-level rise derived from satellite imagery. Nature Geoscience 2010, 3:92-95.
17. Bhambri R., Bolch T., Chaujar R.K. Mapping of debris-covered glaciers in the Garhwal Himalayas using ASTER DEMs and thermal data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2011, 32:8095-8119.
18. Bhardwaj A., Joshi P.K., Snehmani S.,.M.K., Sam L., Gupta R.D. Mapping debris-covered glaciers and identifying factors affecting the accuracy. Cold Regions Science and Technology 2014, 106-107:161-174.
19. Bhardwaj A., Joshi P.K., Snehmani S.,.M.K., Sam L., Gupta R.D. Mapping debris-covered glaciers and identifying factors affecting the accuracy. Cold Regions Science and Technology 2014, 106:161-174.
20. Bishop M., Bush A.G., Furfaro R., Gillespie A., Hall D., Haritashya U., Shroder J. Theoretical foundations of remote sensing for glacier assessment and mapping. Global land ice measurements from space 2014, Springer Berlin Heidelberg. J.S. KARGEL, G.J. LEONARD, M.P. BISHOP, A. KÄÄB, B.H. RAUP (Eds.).
21. Blaschke T. Object based image analysis for remote sensing. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 2010, 65:2-16.
22. Blaschke T., Strobl J. What's wrong with pixels? Some recent developments interfacing remote sensing and GIS. GIS - Zeitschrift für Geoinformationssysteme 2001, 6:12-17.
23. Blaschke T., Hay G.J., Kelly M., Lang S., Hofmann P., Addink E., Feitosa R.Q., Van Der Meer F., Van Der Werff H., Van Coillie F., et al. Geographic object-based image analysis - towards a new paradigm. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 2014, 87:180-191.
24. Bolch T., Buchroithner M.F., Kunert A., Kamp U. Automated delineation of debris-covered glaciers based on ASTER data. Geoinformation in Europe (Proc. of 27th EARSel Symposium, 04-07 June 2007) 2007, 403-410. Bozen, Italy.
25. Bolch T., Buchroithner M.F., Kunert A., Kamp U. Automated delineation of debris-covered glaciers based on ASTER data. Geoinformation in Europe. proceedings of the 27th EARSeL Symposium 2007, 4-6.
26. Bolch T., Buchroithner M., Pieczonka T., Kunert A. Planimetric and volumetric glacier changes in the Khumbu Himal, Nepal, since 1962 using Corona, Landsat TM and ASTER data. Journal of Glaciology 2008, 54:592-600.
27. Bolch T., Buchroithner M.F., Peters J., Baessler M., Bajracharya S. Identification of glacier motion and potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Mt. Everest region/Nepal using spaceborne imagery. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 2008, 8:1329-1340.
28. Bolch T., Kulkarni A., Kaab A., Huggel C., Paul F., Cogley J.G., Frey H., Kargel J.S., Fujita K., Scheel M., et al. The state and fate of Himalayan glaciers. Science 2012, 336:310-314.
29. Brenning A., Pena M.A., Long S., Soliman A. Thermal remote sensing of ice-debris landforms using ASTER: an example from the Chilean Andes. The Cryosphere 2012, 6:367-382.
30. Casey K.A., Kaab A., Benn D.I. Geochemical characterization of supraglacial debris via in situ and optical remote sensing methods: a case study in Khumbu Himalaya, Nepal. The Cryosphere 2012, 6:85-100.
31. Catani F., Farina P., Moretti S., Nico G., Strozzi T. On the application of SAR interferometry to geomorphological studies: estimation of landform attributes and mass movements. Geomorphology 2005, 66:119-131.
32. Cuffey K.M., Paterson W.S.B. The physics of glaciers 2010, Academic Press.
33. De Ferranti J. Viewfinder panoramas [Online] Available:, [Accessed 15/06/2013]. http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/.
34. Drăguţ L., Csillik O., Eisank C., Tiede D. Automated parameterisation for multi-scale image segmentation on multiple layers. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 2014, 88:119-127.
35. Frey H., Paul F., Strozzi T. Compilation of a glacier inventory for the western Himalayas from satellite data: methods, challenges, and results. Remote Sensing of Environment 2012, 124:832-843.
36. Gao Y., Mas J.F., Maathuis B.H.P., Zhang X.M., Van Dijk P.M. Comparison of pixel-based and object-oriented image classification approaches - a case study in a coal fire area, Wuda, Inner Mongolia, China. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2006, 27:4039-4055.
37. Gardelle J., Berthier E., Arnaud Y., Kääb A. Region-wide glacier mass balances over the Pamir-Karakoram-Himalaya during 1999-2011. The Cryosphere 2013, 7:1263-1286.
38. Ghosh S., Pandey A.C., Nathawat M.S. Mapping of debris-covered glaciers in parts of the Greater Himalaya Range, Ladakh, western Himalaya, using remote sensing and GIS. Journal of Applied Remote Sensing 2014, 8. (083579-083579).
39. Government of Nepal, D.O.H.a.M Interpolated 12km temperature and rainfall mean annual data (1970-2010) [online] 2014, Kathmandu, Nepal, (Available: http://dhm.gov.np/dpc).
40. Hoersch B., Amans V. GMES space component data access portfolio: data warehouse 2011-2014 2012, European Space Agency, Frascati, Italy.
41. Hölbling D., Friedl B., Eisank C. An object-based approach for semi-automated landslide change detection and attribution of changes to landslide classes in northern Taiwan. Earth Science Informatics 2015, 1-9.
42. Huang L., Li Z., Tian B.S., Zhou J.M., Chen Q. Recognition of supraglacial debris in the Tianshan Mountains on polarimetric SAR images. Remote Sensing of Environment 2014, 145:47-54.
43. Icimod Glacier mapping and monitoring tools and techniques 2010, ICIMOD. S.R. Bajracharya, P. MOOL (Eds.).
44. Immerzeel W.W., Van Beek L.P.H., Bierkens M.F.P. Climate change will affect the Asian water towers. Science 2010, 328:1382-1385.
45. Immerzeel W.W., Kraaijenbrink P.D.A., Shea J.M., Shrestha A.B., Pellicciotti F., Bierkens M.F.P., De Jong S.M. High-resolution monitoring of Himalayan glacier dynamics using unmanned aerial vehicles. Remote Sensing of Environment 2014, 150:93-103.
46. Joyce K.E., Samsonov S.V., Levick S.R., Engelbrecht J., Belliss S. Mapping and monitoring geological hazards using optical, LiDAR, and synthetic aperture RADAR image data. Natural Hazards 2014, 73:137-163.
47. Juen M., Mayer C., Lambrecht A., Han H., Liu S. Impact of varying debris cover thickness on ablation: a case study for Koxkar Glacier in the Tien Shan. The Cryosphere 2014, 8:377-386.
48. Kääb A. Combination of SRTM3 and repeat ASTER data for deriving alpine glacier flow velocities in the Bhutan Himalaya. Remote Sensing of Environment 2005, 94:463-474.
49. Kääb A., Bolch T., Casey K., Heid T., Kargel J., Leonard G., Raup B. Glacier mapping and monitoring using multispectral data. Global land ice measurements from space 2015, Springer Berlin Heidelberg. J.S. KARGEL, G.J. LEONARD, M.P. BISHOP, A. KÄÄB, B.H. RAUP (Eds.).
50. Karimi N., Farokhnia A., Shishangosht S., Elmi M., Eftekhari M., Ghalkhani H. Elevation changes of Alamkouh glacier in Iran since 1955, based on remote sensing data. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 2012, 19:45-58.
51. Keshri A.K., Shukla A., Gupta R.P. ASTER ratio indices for supraglacial terrain mapping. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2009, 30:519-524.
52. Kulkarni A., Dhar S., Rathore B.P., Raj K.B., Kalia R. Recession of Samudra Tapu glacier, Chandra river basin, Himachal Pradesh. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing 2006, 34:39-46.
53. Lang S. Object-based image analysis for remote sensing applications: modeling reality - dealing with complexity. Object-based image analysis 2008, Springer Berlin Heidelberg. T. BLASCHKE, S. LANG, G. HAY (Eds.).
54. Mool P., Maskey P.R., Koirala A., Joshi S.P., Lizong W., Shrestha A.B., Eriksson M., Gurung B., Pokharel B., Khanal N.R., et al. Glacial lakes and glacial lake outburst floods in Nepal 2011, ICIMOD, Kathmandu.
55. Moosavi V., Talebi A., Shirmohammadi B. Producing a landslide inventory map using pixel-based and object-oriented approaches optimized by Taguchi method. Geomorphology 2014, 204:646-656.
56. Myint S.W., Gober P., Brazel A., Grossman-Clarke S., Weng Q.H. Per-pixel vs. object-based classification of urban land cover extraction using high spatial resolution imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment 2011, 115:1145-1161.
57. Nuimura T., Sakai A., Taniguchi K., Nagai H., Lamsal D., Tsutaki S., Kozawa A., Hoshina Y., Takenaka S., Omiya S., et al. The GAMDAM Glacier Inventory: a quality controlled inventory of Asian glaciers. The Cryosphere Discuss 2014, 8:2799-2829.
58. Nuth C., Kohler J., König M., Von Deschwanden A., Hagen J.O., Kääb A., Pettersson R. Decadal changes from a multi-temporal glacier inventory of Svalbard. The Cryosphere 2013, 7:1603-1621.
59. Owen L.A., Benn D.I. Equilibrium-line altitudes of the Last Glacial Maximum for the Himalaya and Tibet: an assessment and evaluation of results. Quaternary International 2005, 138-139:55-78.
60. Paul F., Andreassen L.M. A new glacier inventory for the Svartisen region, Norway, from Landsat ETM+ data: challenges and change assessment. Journal of Glaciology 2009, 55:607-618.
61. Paul F., Huggel C., Kaab A. Combining satellite multispectral image data and a digital elevation model for mapping debris-covered glaciers. Remote Sensing of Environment 2004, 89:510-518.
62. Paul F., Barrand N., Baumann S., Berthier E., Bolch T., Casey K., Bris R.L. On the accuracy of glacier outlines derived from remote-sensing data. Annals of Glaciology 2013, 54:171-182.
63. Paul F., Bolch T., Kääb A., Nagler T., Nuth C., Scharrer K., Shepherd A., Strozzi T., Ticconi F., Bhambri R., et al. The glaciers climate change initiative: methods for creating glacier area, elevation change and velocity products. Remote Sensing of Environment 2013, 162:408-426.
64. Pfeffer W.T., Arendt A.A., Bliss A., Bolch T., Cogley J.G., Gardner A.S., Hagen J.O., Hock R., Kaser G., Kienholz C., et al. The Randolph Glacier Inventory: a globally complete inventory of glaciers. Journal of Glaciology 2014, 60:537-552.
65. Pradhananga N.S., Kayastha R.B., Bhattarai B.C., Adhikari T.R., Pradhan S.C., Devkota L.P., Mool P.K. Estimation of discharge from Langtang River basin, Rasuwa, Nepal, using a glacio-hydrological model. Annals of Glaciology 2014, 55:223-230.
66. Pratap B., Dobhal D., Bhambri R., Mehta M., Tewari V. Four decades of glacier mass balance observations in the Indian Himalaya. Regional Environmental Change 2015, 1-16.
67. Pratap B., Dobhal D., Mehta M., Bhambri R. Influence of debris cover and altitude on glacier surface melting: a case study on Dokriani Glacier, central Himalaya, India. Annals of Glaciology 2015, 56:9.
68. Quincey D.J., Luckman A., Benn D. Quantification of Everest region glacier velocities between 1992 and 2002, using satellite radar interferometry and feature tracking. Journal of Glaciology 2009, 55:596-606.
69. Racoviteanu A., Williams M.W. Decision tree and texture analysis for mapping debris-covered glaciers in the Kangchenjunga area, eastern Himalaya. Remote Sensing 2012, 4:3078-3109.
70. Racoviteanu A.E., Williams M.W., Barry R.G. Optical remote sensing of glacier characteristics: a review with focus on the Himalaya. Sensors 2008, 8:3355-3383.
71. Racoviteanu A.E., Paul F., Raup B., Khalsa S.J.S., Armstrong R. 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. Annals of Glaciology 2009, 50:53-69.
72. Racoviteanu A.E., Armstrong R., Williams M.W. Evaluation of an ice ablation model to estimate the contribution of melting glacier ice to annual discharge in the Nepal Himalaya. Water Resources Research 2013, 49:5117-5133.
73. Ranzi R., Grossi G., Iacovelli L., Taschner S. Use of multispectral ASTER images for mapping debris-covered glaciers within the GLIMS project. Igarss 2004: IEEE international geoscience and remote sensing symposium proceedings 2004, Vols 1-7:1144-1147.
74. Rastner P., Bolch T., Notarnicola C., Paul F. A comparison of pixel- and object-based glacier classification with optical satellite images. Ieee Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing 2014, 7:853-862.
75. Rees H.G., Collins D.N. Regional differences in response of flow in glacier-fed Himalayan rivers to climatic warming. Hydrological Processes 2006, 20:2157-2169.
76. Rexer M., Hirt C. Comparison of free high resolution digital elevation data sets (ASTER GDEM2, SRTM v2.1/v4.1) and validation against accurate heights from the Australian National Gravity database. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 2014, 61:213-226.
77. Reznichenko N., Davies T., Shulmeister J., Mcsaveney M. Effects of debris on ice-surface melting rates: an experimental study. Journal of Glaciology 2010, 56:384-394.
78. Richardson S.D., Reynolds J.M. An overview of glacial hazards in the Himalayas. Quaternary International 2000, 65-6:31-47.
79. Saraswat P., Syed T.H., Famiglietti J.S., Fielding E.J., Crippen R., Gupta N. Recent changes in the snout position and surface velocity of Gangotri glacier observed from space. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2013, 34:8653-8668.
80. Scherler D., Bookhagen B., Strecker M.R. Spatially variable response of Himalayan glaciers to climate change affected by debris cover. Nature Geoscience 2011, 4:156-159.
81. Shangguan D., Liu S., Ding Y., Wu L., Deng W., Guo W., Guo Z. Glacier changes in the Koshi River basin, central Himalaya, from 1976 to 2009, derived from remote-sensing imagery. Annals of Glaciology 2014, 55:61.
82. Sharma A.K., Singh S.K., Kulkarni A.V., Ajai Glacier inventory in Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra Basins of the Himalaya. National Academy Science Letters (India) 2013, 36:497-505.
83. Shukla A., Arora M., Gupta R. Synergistic approach for mapping debris-covered glaciers using optical-thermal remote sensing data with inputs from geomorphometric parameters. Remote Sensing of Environment 2010, 114:1378-1387.
84. Snehmani S.,.M.k., Gupta R., Bhardwaj A., Joshi P.K. Geocarto International 2014, 1-27.
85. Strozzi T., Ambrosi C., Raetzo H. Interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite SAR interferometry for the inventory of landslides. Remote Sensing 2013, 5:2554-2570.
86. Tachikawa T., Kaku M., Iwasaki A., Gegch D., Oimoen M., Zhang Z., Danielson J., Krieger T., Curtis B., Haase J., et al. ASTER global digital elevation model version 2 - summary of validation results. Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC) 2011, D. MEYER (Ed.).
87. Takeuchi Y., Kayastha R.B., Nakawo M. Characteristics of ablation and heat balance in debris-free and debris-covered areas on Khumbu Glacier, Nepal Himalayas, in the pre-monsoon season. IAHS Publication 2000, 53-62.
88. Tiwari R.K., Arora M.K., Gupta R.P. Comparison of maximum likelihood and knowledge-based classifications of debris cover of glaciers using aster optical-thermal imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment 2014.
89. Townshend J., Huang C., Kalluri S., Defries R., Liang S., Yang K. Beware of per-pixel characterization of land cover. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2000, 21:839-843.
90. Zhang Y., Fujita K., Liu S.Y., Liu Q., Nuimura T. Distribution of debris thickness and its effect on ice melt at Hailuogou glacier, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, using in situ surveys and ASTER imagery. Journal of Glaciology 2011, 57:1147-1157.
91. Zongli J., Shiyin L., Xin W., Jian L., Sichun L. Applying SAR interferometric coherence to outline debris-covered glacier. Geoinformatics, 2011 19th international conference on, 24-26 June 2011 2011, 1-4.