TY - JOUR
T1 - Mapping glacier forelands based on UAV BVLOS operation in Antarctica
AU - Dabski, Maciej
AU - Zmarz, Anna
AU - Rodzewicz, Mirosław
AU - Korczak-Abshire, Małgorzata
AU - Karsznia, Izabela
AU - Lach, Katarzyna
AU - Rachlewicz, Grzegorz
AU - Chwedorzewska, Katarzyna
N1 - Funding Information:
The research leading to these results has received funding from (1) the Polish-Norwegian Research Programme operated by the National Centre for Research and Development under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 in the frame of Project Contract No 197810; (2) project innoVation in geOspatiaL and 3D daTA (VOLTA) financed by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 734687, further co-funded from Polish resources for science in the period 2017-2020 awarded for the implementation of an international co-financed project; (3) grant NCN OPUS 2013/11/B/ST10/00283 (supporting fieldwork of Grzegorz Rachlewicz). The data used in the paper were collected with the support of Henryk Arctowski, Polish Antarctic Station. We would like to thank Joseph C. Abshire for proofreading of the manuscript. The large-scale maps will be available to the readers on request.
Funding Information:
Funding: The research leading to these results has received funding from (1) the Polish-Norwegian Research Programme operated by the National Centre for Research and Development under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009–2014 in the frame of Project Contract No 197810; (2) project innoVation in geOspatiaL and 3D daTA (VOLTA) financed by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 734687, further co-funded from Polish resources for science in the period 2017–2020 awarded for the implementation of an international co-financed project; (3) grant NCN OPUS 2013/11/B/ST10/00283 (supporting fieldwork of Grzegorz Rachlewicz).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the author.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - The aim of this article is to show geomorphological mapping of remote Antarctic locations using images taken by a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. We mapped landform assemblages developed in forelands of Ecology Glacier (EGF), Sphinx Glacier (SGF) and Baranowski Glacier (BGF) in Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 128 (ASPA 128) on King George Island (South Shetland Islands) and inferred about glacial dynamics. The orthophoto and digital elevation model allowed for geomorphological mapping of glacial forelands, including (i) glacial depositional landforms, (ii) fluvial and fluvioglacial landforms, (iii) littoral and lacustrine landforms, (iv) bodies of water, and (v) other. The largest area is occupied by ground moraine and glacial lagoons on EGF and BGF. The most profound features of EGF are the large latero-frontal moraine ridges from Little Ice Age and the first half of the 20th century. Large areas of ground moraine, frequently fluted and marked with large recessional moraine ridges, dominate on SGF. A significant percentage of bedrock outcrops and end moraine complexes characterize BGF. The landform assemblages are typical for discontinuous fast ice flow of tidewater glaciers over a deformable bed. It is inferred that ice flow velocity decreased as a result of recession from the sea coast, resulting in a significant decrease in the length of ice cliffs and decrease in calving rate. Image acquisition during the fixed-wing UAV BVLOS operation proved to be a very robust technique in harsh polar conditions of King George Island.
AB - The aim of this article is to show geomorphological mapping of remote Antarctic locations using images taken by a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. We mapped landform assemblages developed in forelands of Ecology Glacier (EGF), Sphinx Glacier (SGF) and Baranowski Glacier (BGF) in Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 128 (ASPA 128) on King George Island (South Shetland Islands) and inferred about glacial dynamics. The orthophoto and digital elevation model allowed for geomorphological mapping of glacial forelands, including (i) glacial depositional landforms, (ii) fluvial and fluvioglacial landforms, (iii) littoral and lacustrine landforms, (iv) bodies of water, and (v) other. The largest area is occupied by ground moraine and glacial lagoons on EGF and BGF. The most profound features of EGF are the large latero-frontal moraine ridges from Little Ice Age and the first half of the 20th century. Large areas of ground moraine, frequently fluted and marked with large recessional moraine ridges, dominate on SGF. A significant percentage of bedrock outcrops and end moraine complexes characterize BGF. The landform assemblages are typical for discontinuous fast ice flow of tidewater glaciers over a deformable bed. It is inferred that ice flow velocity decreased as a result of recession from the sea coast, resulting in a significant decrease in the length of ice cliffs and decrease in calving rate. Image acquisition during the fixed-wing UAV BVLOS operation proved to be a very robust technique in harsh polar conditions of King George Island.
KW - BVLOS operations
KW - Geomorphological mapping
KW - Glacial forelands
KW - Glacial landforms;Western Antarctica
KW - King George Island
KW - Photointerpretation
KW - Unmanned aerial vehicle
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85080970933&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/rs12040630
DO - 10.3390/rs12040630
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85080970933
VL - 12
JO - Remote Sensing
JF - Remote Sensing
IS - 4
M1 - 630
ER -