Analysis of the seasonal velocity difference of the Greenland Russell glacier using multi-sensor data

Abstract

To fulfil the strong need for monitoring seasonal difference of velocity over the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS), we developed an approach based on the fusion of multiple temporal and multi sensor remote sensing observations. We used spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical data over the Russell glacier in southwestern Greenland. Firstly, offset tracking and InSAR time series analyses were employed for deriving the glacier’s velocity in planimetric and line of sight (LOS) directions. Next, a three-dimensional (3D) decomposition was applied for estimating the 3D velocity vectors of the glacier. Once the reliability of the results was validated, a numerical ice sheet model (ISM) was further applied to derive the modelled basal friction in different seasons. We concluded that the overall data integration using multiple open-accessed satellite image employed in this study demonstrated a decent method to analyze seasonal velocity difference of the Russell glacier. Based on the proposed monitoring strategy, it is of great potential to further investigate other polar and inland glaciers with various remote sensed data.