Advances in Remote Sensing Technology and the Three Poles

26 High-Resolution Remote Sensing for Mapping Glacier Facies in the Arctic

Shridhar Digambar Jawak¹, Sagar Filipe Wankhede^2,*, Alvarinho J. Luis³ and Keshava Balakrishna²

¹ Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS), SIOS Knowledge Centre, PO Box 156, N-9171, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway² Department of Civil Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, India³ Earth System Sciences Organization, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa 403804, India^* Corresponding author

26.1 Introduction

Glaciers have shaped the Earth’s landscapes throughout its history. Eroding, abrading, and depositing material throughout the traversing regime of a glacial system, they continue to morph present-day continents. In combination with ice sheets, frozen lakes, and sea ice, they form the planet’s cryosphere. The interchange of mass and energy between the cryosphere and other components of the earth systems make glaciers sensitive indicators of climate change (Benn and Evans, 2013). Alpine glaciers provide perennial sources of drinking water to millions of people across the world. Supporting life through meltwater discharge and threatening famine through potential depletion of glacial bodies, they are fundamental resources of both scientific and economic significance. The deposition of snowflakes followed by their accumulation, compaction, ...