DInSAR for a regional inventory of active rock glaciers in the Dry Andes Mountains of Argentina and Chile with sentinel-1 data

The Dry Andes region of Argentina and Chile is characterized by a highly developed periglacial environment. In these arid or semi-arid regions, rock glaciers represent one of the main pieces of evidence of mountain creeping permafrost and water reserves in a solid state. However, their distribution,...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Villarroel C.D., Beliveau G.T., Forte A.P., Monserrat O., Morvillo M.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)
Repositorio:r-CTTC. Repositorio Institucional Producción Científica del Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)
OAI Identifier:oai:cttc.fundanetsuite.com:p3239
Acceso en línea:https://cttc.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=3239
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85055426893&doi=10.3390%2frs10101588&partnerID=40&md5=ce95b4364b743a5b3c98f8fb7613697e
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Global warming
Interferometry
Landforms
Permafrost
Remote sensing
Surface measurement
D-inSAR
Interferometric techniques
Mapping methodology
Mountain permafrosts
Remote sensing classification
Rock glaciers
Sentinel-1
Surface displacement
Rocks
Descripción
Sumario:The Dry Andes region of Argentina and Chile is characterized by a highly developed periglacial environment. In these arid or semi-arid regions, rock glaciers represent one of the main pieces of evidence of mountain creeping permafrost and water reserves in a solid state. However, their distribution, degree of activity, and response to global warming are not yet well understood. In this context, this work aims to show the potential of the Sentinel-1-based interferometric technique (DInSAR) to map active rock glaciers at a regional level. In particular, the paper presents an active rock glacier inventory for the study area, which covers approximately 40,000 km2, ranging from latitude 30°210S to 33°210S. A total of 2116 active rock glaciers have been detected, and their elevations show a high correlation with the west-east direction. This result was obtained by using only 16 interferometric pairs. Compared to other remote sensing classification techniques, the interferometric technique offers a means to measure surface displacement (active rock glacier). This results in a reliable classification of the degree of activity compared to other methods, based on geomorphological, geomorphometric, and/or ecological criteria. This work presents evidence of this aspect by comparing the obtained results with existing optical data-based inventories. We conclude that the combination of both types of sensors (radar and optical) is an appropriate procedure for active rock glacier inventories, as both mapping methodologies are complementary. © 2018 by the authors.