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Automated production of high-resolution DEMs from historical imagery for quantitative analysis of glacier and geomorphological change
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  • Friedrich Knuth,
  • David Shean,
  • Oleg Alexandrov,
  • Shashank Bhushan
Friedrich Knuth
University of Washington

Corresponding Author:knuth@uw.edu

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David Shean
University of Washington
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Oleg Alexandrov
NASA Ames Research Center
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Shashank Bhushan
University of Washington
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Abstract

We are developing a fully automated Structure from Motion (SfM) processing pipeline to generate high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) from archives of historical aerial and satellite imagery acquired between the 1950s to the 1990s. Scanned images are loaded directly from online archives and processed using open-source software deployed on cloud-computing infrastructure. Modern DEMs with high resolution and accuracy (e.g., airborne lidar, stereo DEMs from sub-meter satellite imagery) are used to iteratively improve historical image geolocation, without manual processing steps involving ground control. We present preliminary DEM and orthoimage time series for glaciers in Washington state, derived from the USGS North American Glacier Aerial Photography (NAGAP) archive. These records document surface elevation change with sub-meter vertical accuracy over decadal timescales. We are using these observations to quantify evolving rates of glacier mass change and proglacial sediment transport. Our aim is to generate long-term, regional records of glacial response to climate forcing on decadal timescales. Better understanding these past responses will help constrain projections of future glacier change under different climate scenarios, as well as impacts on downstream water resources.