Estimation of Mountain Glacier Retreat from Landsat Images

Page 1. Estimation of Mountain Glacier Retreat from Landsat Images Armin Schwartzman Division of Biostatistics, UC San Diego June 2016 Page 2. Mountain Glacier Retreat 1941 2004 Muir Glacier, Alaska 1978 2004 Qori Kalis Glacier, Perú 2/35 Page 3. Landsat Images Southern New Zealand, Feb 2009 Franz Joseph Glacier N N 3/35 Page 4. Landsat Images over Time 4/35 Page 5. Image Analysis of Glaciers • The scientific problem: – Estimate trend of mountain glacier retreat • Motivation: – Climate change indicators – People depend on glacial melt water (Andes, Himalayas, Rockies) – Ground measurements for (mostly) Alps only • Proposal: – Analysis of Landsat images – They are free! 5/35 Page 6. Difficulties • Difficulties – Clouds, debris, snow – Shadows from adjacent mountains – Landsat 7 defects – Irregular shapes • Standard approach – Segmentation of glacial surface – Carefully delineate glacier boundary …