Advancing Measurement and Modelling of Glacier Change Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Structure-From-Motion

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dc.contributor.advisorMoorman, Brian J.
dc.contributor.authorBash, Eleanor A.
dc.contributor.committeememberMcDermid, Gregory J.
dc.contributor.committeememberMarshall, Shawn
dc.contributor.committeememberLichti, Derek D.
dc.contributor.committeememberMueller, Derek R.
dc.date2019-11
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-10T22:08:36Z
dc.date.available2019-09-10T22:08:36Z
dc.date.issued2019-09-09
dc.description.abstractGlaciers throughout Canada are responding to climate change with rapid changes in mass balance. There are limitations in current methods of measuring and predicting these changes in mass balance, including accessibility, spatial and temporal resolution of remotely sensed data, and cost of data acquisition. Technological developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and structure-from-motion (SfM) have created new opportunities to overcome these limitations. This dissertation investigated uncertainties in UAV-SfM data and used that data to understand spatial patterns and drivers of summer glacier melt. A study of glacier snow surface reconstruction in the Canadian Rockies used lidar data acquired simultaneously with UAV imagery to assess the spatial distribution of errors in the UAV-SfM data. The study revealed patterns in the errors related to snow surface illumination which must be considered when using UAVs over snow covered glaciers. Short term summer melt in the ablation zone of a glacier in the Canadian Arctic was investigated using UAV surveys. The study showed that UAV-SfM melt measurements agreed with ablation stake measurements and was a reliable method of measuring distributed melt patterns. The study found the lower limits on change detection were related to flying height and dGPS precision. A melt model was used to estimate surface melt for the three-day window where UAV-SfM measurements were collected and model results were validated against spatially distributed measurements. This study revealed patterns in model error which show that simplified melt models fail to capture important melt drivers on the glacier surface. The model errors would have cumulative effects in long term projections, which would lead to significant misrepresentation of total surface melt. UAV and SfM technologies were shown to be an effective method for gathering highly detailed information on glacier surface characteristics and change. However, the technology is not the answer to every problem and limitations still exist in its appropriate application. This work shows the utility of the data in advancing modelling efforts where site visits are not feasible. The dissertation ultimately demonstrates that studies can be strengthened using UAV-SfM data as one tool of many to address questions of glacier change.en_US
dc.identifier.citationBash, E. A. (2019). Advancing Measurement and Modelling of Glacier Change Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Structure-From-Motion (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/36981
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/110909
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArtsen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectUnmanned Aerial Vehiclesen_US
dc.subjectStructure-from-Motionen_US
dc.subjectArctic Canadaen_US
dc.subjectGlacieren_US
dc.subjectCanadian Rockiesen_US
dc.subjectPoint Clouden_US
dc.subjectSnowen_US
dc.subject.classificationPhysical Geographyen_US
dc.subject.classificationRemote Sensingen_US
dc.titleAdvancing Measurement and Modelling of Glacier Change Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Structure-From-Motionen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineGeographyen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
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