---
_id: '12636'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Himalayan glacier tongues are commonly debris covered and they are an important
    source of melt water. However, they remain relatively unstudied because of the
    inaccessibility of the terrain and the difficulties in field work caused by the
    thick debris mantles. Observations of debris-covered glaciers are therefore scarce
    and airborne remote sensing may bridge the gap between scarce field observations
    and coarse resolution space-borne remote sensing. In this study we deploy an Unmanned
    Aerial Vehicle (UAV) before and after the melt and monsoon season (May and October
    2013) over the debris-covered tongue of the Lirung Glacier in Nepal. Based on
    stereo-imaging and the structure for motion algorithm we derive highly detailed
    ortho-mosaics and digital elevation models (DEMs), which we geometrically correct
    using differential GPS observations collected in the field. Based on DEM differencing
    and manual feature tracking we derive the mass loss and the surface velocity of
    the glacier at a high spatial accuracy. On average, mass loss is limited and the
    surface velocity is very small. However, the spatial variability of melt rates
    is very high, and ice cliffs and supra-glacial ponds show mass losses that can
    be an order of magnitude higher than the average. We suggest that future research
    should focus on the interaction between supra-glacial ponds, ice cliffs and englacial
    hydrology to further understand the dynamics of debris-covered glaciers. Finally,
    we conclude that UAV deployment has large potential in glaciology and it may revolutionize
    methods currently applied in studying glacier surface features.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: W.W.
  full_name: Immerzeel, W.W.
  last_name: Immerzeel
- first_name: P.D.A.
  full_name: Kraaijenbrink, P.D.A.
  last_name: Kraaijenbrink
- first_name: J.M.
  full_name: Shea, J.M.
  last_name: Shea
- first_name: A.B.
  full_name: Shrestha, A.B.
  last_name: Shrestha
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
- first_name: M.F.P.
  full_name: Bierkens, M.F.P.
  last_name: Bierkens
- first_name: S.M.
  full_name: de Jong, S.M.
  last_name: de Jong
citation:
  ama: Immerzeel WW, Kraaijenbrink PDA, Shea JM, et al. High-resolution monitoring
    of Himalayan glacier dynamics using unmanned aerial vehicles. <i>Remote Sensing
    of Environment</i>. 2014;150(7):93-103. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025">10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025</a>
  apa: Immerzeel, W. W., Kraaijenbrink, P. D. A., Shea, J. M., Shrestha, A. B., Pellicciotti,
    F., Bierkens, M. F. P., &#38; de Jong, S. M. (2014). High-resolution monitoring
    of Himalayan glacier dynamics using unmanned aerial vehicles. <i>Remote Sensing
    of Environment</i>. Elsevier. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025</a>
  chicago: Immerzeel, W.W., P.D.A. Kraaijenbrink, J.M. Shea, A.B. Shrestha, Francesca
    Pellicciotti, M.F.P. Bierkens, and S.M. de Jong. “High-Resolution Monitoring of
    Himalayan Glacier Dynamics Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.” <i>Remote Sensing
    of Environment</i>. Elsevier, 2014. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025</a>.
  ieee: W. W. Immerzeel <i>et al.</i>, “High-resolution monitoring of Himalayan glacier
    dynamics using unmanned aerial vehicles,” <i>Remote Sensing of Environment</i>,
    vol. 150, no. 7. Elsevier, pp. 93–103, 2014.
  ista: Immerzeel WW, Kraaijenbrink PDA, Shea JM, Shrestha AB, Pellicciotti F, Bierkens
    MFP, de Jong SM. 2014. High-resolution monitoring of Himalayan glacier dynamics
    using unmanned aerial vehicles. Remote Sensing of Environment. 150(7), 93–103.
  mla: Immerzeel, W. W., et al. “High-Resolution Monitoring of Himalayan Glacier Dynamics
    Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.” <i>Remote Sensing of Environment</i>, vol. 150,
    no. 7, Elsevier, 2014, pp. 93–103, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025">10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025</a>.
  short: W.W. Immerzeel, P.D.A. Kraaijenbrink, J.M. Shea, A.B. Shrestha, F. Pellicciotti,
    M.F.P. Bierkens, S.M. de Jong, Remote Sensing of Environment 150 (2014) 93–103.
date_created: 2023-02-20T08:16:56Z
date_published: 2014-07-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-24T08:32:39Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2014.04.025
extern: '1'
intvolume: '       150'
issue: '7'
keyword:
- Computers in Earth Sciences
- Geology
- Soil Science
language:
- iso: eng
month: '07'
oa_version: None
page: 93-103
publication: Remote Sensing of Environment
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 0034-4257
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: High-resolution monitoring of Himalayan glacier dynamics using unmanned aerial
  vehicles
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 150
year: '2014'
...