Detecting Supraglacial Meltwater Drainage on the Devon Ice Cap using Kennaugh Decomposition of TerraSAR-X imagery

Abstract

During the past three decades, increases in mean summer air temperature over the Canadian Arctic have resulted in a longer melt season and intensified mass loss from ice caps and glaciers, mainly via supraglacial melt and meltwater runoff. However, the processes by which meltwater is delivered to the ocean have been little studied due to the lack of information about the development of supraglacial channels. By applying Kennaugh decomposition to a time series of dual-co-polarized TerraSARX images of the Devon Ice Cap we were able to define the timing of melt onset and freeze-up and detect small surface drainage channels.