A Novel Method Combining Remote Sensing Albedo and Differencing DEM to Estimate Annual Glacier Mass Balance
Annual mass balance (AMB) is a critical parameter to understand the rapid variation of glaciers that can serve water resource management, glacier disaster prevention, and global change studies. However, estimating AMB for widely distributed glaciers is hindered by existing satellite geodetic and alb...
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11006269/ |
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| author | Yi Liu Liming Jiang Zhimin Zhang Hansheng Wang |
| author_facet | Yi Liu Liming Jiang Zhimin Zhang Hansheng Wang |
| author_sort | Yi Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Annual mass balance (AMB) is a critical parameter to understand the rapid variation of glaciers that can serve water resource management, glacier disaster prevention, and global change studies. However, estimating AMB for widely distributed glaciers is hindered by existing satellite geodetic and albedo-based methods due to low spatio-temporal resolution or reliance on in-situ data for model calibration. In this study, we propose a novel method to estimate AMB by combining remote sensing albedo with differencing digital elevation model (DEM) data. We validated the estimated AMB with in-situ data for 88 tested glaciers in Alaska, Western Canada and USA, the European Alps, High Mountain Asia, and the Andes Mountains. The proposed method achieves an average RMSE of 495 mm w.e., its accuracy is 11.3% on average higher than that of other available AMB model data from previous studies (Snow line altitude-based method, degree day model, and DEM interpolation method), and the correlation with in-situ data for our method is 47.2% greater than that for other AMB model data. Because remote sensing albedo and differencing DEM can be available globally, the novel method proposed in this study is potentially suitable to estimate AMB for widely distributed glaciers, except for those with high debris cover ratios and surge-type glaciers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b2c4cfb5481e491d8e9bd26aa57dbf4e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1939-1404 2151-1535 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-b2c4cfb5481e491d8e9bd26aa57dbf4e2025-08-20T02:35:11ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing1939-14042151-15352025-01-0118140491406210.1109/JSTARS.2025.357080011006269A Novel Method Combining Remote Sensing Albedo and Differencing DEM to Estimate Annual Glacier Mass BalanceYi Liu0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7128-562XLiming Jiang1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1127-9823Zhimin Zhang2Hansheng Wang3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3977-8886State Key Laboratory of Precision Geodesy, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Precision Geodesy, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, ChinaSchool of Surveying and Urban Spatial Information, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Precision Geodesy, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, ChinaAnnual mass balance (AMB) is a critical parameter to understand the rapid variation of glaciers that can serve water resource management, glacier disaster prevention, and global change studies. However, estimating AMB for widely distributed glaciers is hindered by existing satellite geodetic and albedo-based methods due to low spatio-temporal resolution or reliance on in-situ data for model calibration. In this study, we propose a novel method to estimate AMB by combining remote sensing albedo with differencing digital elevation model (DEM) data. We validated the estimated AMB with in-situ data for 88 tested glaciers in Alaska, Western Canada and USA, the European Alps, High Mountain Asia, and the Andes Mountains. The proposed method achieves an average RMSE of 495 mm w.e., its accuracy is 11.3% on average higher than that of other available AMB model data from previous studies (Snow line altitude-based method, degree day model, and DEM interpolation method), and the correlation with in-situ data for our method is 47.2% greater than that for other AMB model data. Because remote sensing albedo and differencing DEM can be available globally, the novel method proposed in this study is potentially suitable to estimate AMB for widely distributed glaciers, except for those with high debris cover ratios and surge-type glaciers.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11006269/Annual mass balance (AMB)differencing digital elevation model (DEM) dataglaciersremote sensing albedo |
| spellingShingle | Yi Liu Liming Jiang Zhimin Zhang Hansheng Wang A Novel Method Combining Remote Sensing Albedo and Differencing DEM to Estimate Annual Glacier Mass Balance IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing Annual mass balance (AMB) differencing digital elevation model (DEM) data glaciers remote sensing albedo |
| title | A Novel Method Combining Remote Sensing Albedo and Differencing DEM to Estimate Annual Glacier Mass Balance |
| title_full | A Novel Method Combining Remote Sensing Albedo and Differencing DEM to Estimate Annual Glacier Mass Balance |
| title_fullStr | A Novel Method Combining Remote Sensing Albedo and Differencing DEM to Estimate Annual Glacier Mass Balance |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Novel Method Combining Remote Sensing Albedo and Differencing DEM to Estimate Annual Glacier Mass Balance |
| title_short | A Novel Method Combining Remote Sensing Albedo and Differencing DEM to Estimate Annual Glacier Mass Balance |
| title_sort | novel method combining remote sensing albedo and differencing dem to estimate annual glacier mass balance |
| topic | Annual mass balance (AMB) differencing digital elevation model (DEM) data glaciers remote sensing albedo |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11006269/ |
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