Abstract
Change of supraglacial lakes (SGLs) is an important hydrological activity on the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS), and storage and drainage of SGLs occur throughout the year. However, current studies tend to split SGL changes into melt/non-melt seasons, ignoring the effect of buried lakes in the exploration of drainage, and the existing threshold-based approach to SGL extraction in a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is influenced by the choice of the study area mask. In this study, a new method (Otsu–Canny–Otsu (OCO)), which accesses the features of SGLs on optical and SAR images objectively, is proposed for full-year SGL extraction with Google Earth Engine (GEE). The SGLs on the Petermann Glacier were monitored well by OCO throughout 2021, including buried lakes and more detailed rapid drainage events. Some SGLs’ extent varied minimally in a year (area varying by 10–25%) while some had very rapid drainage (a rapid drainage event from July 26 to 30). The SGL extraction results were influenced by factors such as the mode of polarization, the surface environment, and the depth of the lake. The OCO method can provide a more comprehensive analysis for SGL changes throughout the year.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 5726 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Remote Sensing |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 24 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Dec 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/T004002/1) and was partially funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2803303) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (42171133, 41776200).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.