Analysis of glacial change in the Northern Antarctic peninsula region using photogrammetry

Background/Question/Methods Clearly and robustly documenting global climate change over this past century remains a key goal for researchers. Polar regions are an ideal place to study change, since they are particularly sensitive to temperature changes. As part of an International Polar Year (IPY) grant called IPY-ROAM (Research and Educational Opportunities in Antarctica for Minorities), faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) took 29 underrepresented minority students and teachers on a research expedition to Antarctica over winter break 2007. One goal of the program was to document glacial change along the Antarctic Peninsula over the past century using photogrammetry, a technique that uses photos to make accurate geographic measurements. Prior to embarkation, we gathered historic photos of glaciers along our travel route. During the expedition, new photos were taken within the old photo sites, where we made Global Positioning System (GPS) readings and accurately measurement angles to the geographic features. The geographic features (including top and bottom of a glacier) were then mapped onto a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) that allowed us to determine location, scale and distance to these features on the photos. With the angle and distance, the height difference between the old and current photo of the glacier was calculated using basic trigonometric functions. Results/Conclusions In one case, we determined a 14 m reduction in glacier height from 1934 to 2007. Future work will include analysis from more glaciers in the region, and to determine if there is a correlation between glacier retreat and climate change.