Temporal Variation of Glacier Melting Rate of Helheim and Gangotri Glaciers Using Sentinel 1A Images

Abstract

As it is well known, there has been a significant melting of glacier from the last twentieth century in the Himalayan as well as the polar regions. But, this activity has actually peaked in last few years, holding global warming the responsible factor. Glacier melt has a direct impact on the nature by contributing to the global sea-level rise. Glacier velocity is the key indicator in monitoring glaciers movement and in the better understanding of the glacier dynamics that contributes to the rise in sea level. The Sentinel A1 SAR images are processed to estimate the motion of glaciers by co-registering two acquisitions. The Sentinel 1A images of Helheim Glacier, Greenland from the Arctic region and Gangotri Glacier from the Himalayan region are processed for temporal analysis. Acquisitions for a period of 4 years are considered for Gangotri glacier (2016–2020), and 17 months is considered for Helheim glacier in HV polarization. The study presents the temporal variation of glacier motion rate in these two regions.