Satellite tracks the pace of melting glaciers
Melting glaciers and ice caps located at the northernmost and southernmost portions of the planet have captured global attention. These gigantic masses of ice have been decreasing in size at an unprecedented rate. Now even mountain glaciers are receding at an alarming rate.
Elevation readings captured by satellites have confirmed this phenomenon happening at the peaks in the western United States. David Shean, a researcher from the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory, studied earlier readings stored in databases as well as newer readings that are constantly being taken by the WorldView and GeoEye satellites of Digital Globe. His study had indicated a notable decrease in the size of glaciers.
Shean analyzed the data with the help of NASA-developed Ames Stereo Pipeline software which created a 3-dimensional elevation model of the mountains. This method of analysis was done alongside other older techniques such as depth measurements taken onsite and aerial imagery.
The end result is an accurate, annual record of the growth and decline in glacier size.
Shean first requested satellite time to be diverted towards the ice caps on the peaks located in the continental United States. He has since collected sufficient amounts of data to thoroughly analyze almost all glaciers in 48 states.
The analysis has provided insight on just how much the glaciers were losing mass. Mount Rainier, the most glaciated peak in the United States has lost over 600 million cubic meters of ice since 1970. The new method of analysis has allowed scientists to precisely quantify the loss in ice and snow.
Risks posed by melting glaciers
“The next step is to integrate our observations with glacier and climate models and say: Based on what we know now, where are these systems headed?” Shean said.
These predictions can be integrated into planning for management of water supply as well as mitigating flooding risk.
Shean mentions that ““We want to know what the glaciers are doing and how their mass is changing, but it’s important to remember that the meltwater is going somewhere. It ends up in rivers, it ends up in reservoirs, it ends up downstream in the ocean. So there are very real applications for water resource management.”
