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. 2018 Feb;64(243):1-11.
doi: 10.1017/jog.2017.73. Epub 2017 Nov 21.

A Complete Map of Greenland Ice Velocity Derived from Satellite Data Collected over 20 Years

Ian Joughin  1 , Ben E Smith  1 , Ian M Howat  2
Affiliations

A Complete Map of Greenland Ice Velocity Derived from Satellite Data Collected over 20 Years

Ian Joughin et al. J Glaciol. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

While numerous maps of Greenland ice flow velocity exist, most have gaps in coverage and/or accuracy is limited. We processed a large volume of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and Landsat 8 imagery collected between 1995 and 2015 to produce a nearly complete map of ice flow velocity for Greenland at a far greater accuracy than most prior products. We evaluated the accuracy of this map by comparing it with a variety of measured and estimated velocities. For the slow-moving interior of the ice sheet, where estimates are determined from interferometric phase, the errors are ~2 m a-1 or better. For coastal areas, where estimates are determined entirely from speckle- or feature-tracking methods, errors are 2-3 m a-1, which is in good agreement with the estimated formal errors. Especially for the slow-moving majority of the ice sheet, this map provides an important source of data for numerous types of glaciological studies.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Locations of the GPS, balance (Vb) and rock (Vr) control points used to calibrate the offsets and interferograms included in the velocity mosaics plotted over the complete velocity mosaic (color background). Points are color-coded by type as shown in the legend and described in the text.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Ice sheet velocity estimates plot from a) speckle tracking b) interferometric phase in interior regions where phase can be unwrapped, and c) Landsat 8. Speeds are displayed as color over a gray-scale SAR mosaic (Joughin, Smith, Howat, Moon, and others, 2016).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Final velocity mosaic formed as an inverse-error-weighted average of the results shown in Figure 2. This map is freely distributed through the National Snow and Ice Data Center (http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/QUA5Q9SVMSJG).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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