Evaluating high-resolution remote sensing data for reconstructing the recent evolution of supra glacial debris

Abstract

Over the last decades, the expansion of supraglacial debris on worldwide mountain glaciers has been reported. Nevertheless, works dealing with the detection and mapping of supraglacial debris and detailed analyses aimed at identifying the temporal and spatial trends affecting glacier debris cover are still limited. In this study, we used different remote sensing sources to detect and map the supraglacial debris cover, to analyze its evolution, and to assess the potential of different remote-sensed image data. We performed our analyses on the glaciers of Ortles-Cevedale Group (Stelvio Park, Italy), one of the most representative glacierized sectors of the European Alps. High-resolution airborne orthophotos (pixel size 0.5 m × 0.5 m) acquired during the summer season in the years 2003, 2007, and 2012 permitted to map in detail, with an error lower than ±5%, the supraglacial debris cover through a maximum likelihood classification. Our findings suggest that over the period 2003–2012, supraglacial debris cover increased from 16.7% to 30.1% of the total glacier area. On Forni Glacier we extended these quantification thanks to the availability of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) orthophotos from 2014 and 2015 (pixel size 0.15 m × 0.15 m): this detailed analysis permitted to confirm debris is increasing on the glacier melting surface (+20.4%) and confirms the requirement of high-resolution data in debris mapping on Alpine glaciers. Finally, we also checked the suitability of medium-resolution Landsat ETM+ data and Sentinel 2 data to map debris in a typical Alpine glaciation scenario where small ice bodies (<0.5 km²) are the majority. The results we obtained suggest that medium-resolution data are not suitable for a detailed description and evaluation of supraglacial debris cover in the Alpine scenario, nevertheless Sentinel 2 proved to be appropriate for a preliminary mapping of the main debris features.