Glacier surface velocity estimation using stokes vector correlation

Abstract

Cryosphere plays a crucial role in regulating local and global climate. Glaciers form an important component of this frozen part of the Earth's system. They exist over a prolonged period and are largest reservoir of freshwater on Earth. The meltwater from the glaciers during warmer seasons contribute to the river systems in absence of other sources. The run-off is also useful for agriculture, power generation, and is rich in alluvium. Retreating glaciers gives rise to pro-glacial lakes formed by damming action of moraine or ice. Rupturing of ice dams have caused serious damage to infrastructure and human lives in the past. Such useful and dynamic characteristics of a glacier motivate us to study its movement. Monitoring glaciers through in-situ field measurements is a cumbersome process. Over the past decade, glaciers have been repeatedly observed through microwave sensors on-board various satellites. Various techniques have been proposed in the literature to estimate glacier velocity using microwave observations. Over the recent past, the trend in glacier velocity monitoring has shifted from interferometric tracking to intensity tracking. In this paper, we propose a method based on Stokes vector correlation of time lapse microwave observations. This method is proposed as an improvement over the conventional intensity correlation technique.