Predictive Mapping of Glacial and Fluvioglacial Landforms in the Nadym River Basin (North of West Siberia) With TanDEM-X DEM

Abstract

Remote mapping of glacier and fluvioglacial landforms has been extensively used globally. It is supported by a range of mid-scale spatial datasets (space imaging and digital terrain models) available to the research community. Such studies are very important for the northern regions of West Siberia since the existence and scale of the Pleistocene glaciation there is still debated. Here, we use digital terrain models, multispectral images, and historical survey materials for the Nadym river basin to reveal sustainable local signs of such landforms as kames, kame (terminal) moraines, moraine and kame hilly areas, linear ridges, ancient discharge valleys, eskers, and wind-scoured basins at the fluvioglacial deposits. The mapping of the identified features showed an abundance and a great variety of glacial and fluvioglacial landforms on most of the area under consideration. Verification against the historical data confirmed the validity of identifying kames, terminal moraines, and kame hilly areas with their geology typical for the region. The results point to the primary contribution of the Pleistocene glaciation to the formation of medium and large geomorphological landforms. The proposed mid-scale geomorphological mapping strategy is also applicable to other regions of the northern part of West Siberia.

Keywords

• Digital terrain models
• glacial landforms
• glaciation
• remote sensing (RS)
• West Siberia