High-resolution imaging of supraglacial hydrological features on the Greenland Ice Sheet with NASA's Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) instrument suite

Abstract

Seasonal meltwater pools on the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) during late spring and summer in lakes on the surface and transforms the ice sheet's surface into a wet environment in the ablation zone below the equilibrium line. These supraglacial lakes in topographic lows on the ice surface are connected by a dendritic pattern of meandering streams and channels that together form a hydrological system consisting of supra-, en-, and subglacial components. Here, we use lidar data from NASA's Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) instrument suite and high-resolution optical imagery collected as part of Operation IceBridge (OIB) in spring 2019 over the GrIS to develop methods for the study of supraglacial hydrological features. While airborne surveys have a limited temporal and spatial coverage compared to imaging spaceborne sensors, their high footprint density and high-resolution imagery reveal a level of detail that is currently not obtainable from spaceborne measurements. The accuracy and resolution of airborne measurements complement spaceborne measurements, can support calibration and validation of spaceborne methods, and provide information necessary for high-resolution process studies of the supraglacial hydrological system on the GrIS that currently cannot be achieved from spaceborne observations alone.