About the project
Glaciers are retreating worldwide and are a major contribution to global sea-level rise. There are many factors which control melting rate, particularly water at the glacier bed. The aim of this project is to use remote sensing (satellite and drone) to understand how subglacial behaviour can effect glacier dynamics.
The subglacial hydrological system modulates ice dynamics and is a vital component in understanding how glaciers respond to climate change. Recent work has suggested that soft-bedded glaciers (such as the unstable West Antarctic Ice streams) have a braided subglacial hydrology, whilst traditional models argue for a channelized hydrology. The difference in hydrology is important as it is part of the understanding of the rate of glacier velocity and hence sea-level rise.
Remote sensing allows us to track changes in glacier velocity, retreat rates and lake growth. Can we use this to infer what is happening to the water beneath the glacier?
This project will use data from Iceland of techniques including ‘Planet Lab’, Sentinel-1 images, drone images and time-lapse cameras to carry out offset (or intensity) tracking, which is a well-established method for deriving displacements from repeat imagery. This will be used to calculate velocity and glacier retreat and facilitate new understanding of the role of subglacial hydrology in glacier retreat.
