Tourists and hikers visiting glaciers all year round face hazards such as sudden terminus collapses, typical of such a dynamically evolving environment. In this study, we analyzed the potential of different survey techniques to analyze hazards of the Forni Glacier, an important geosite located in Stelvio Park (Italian Alps). We carried out surveys in the 2016 ablation season and compared point clouds generated from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey, close-range photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). To investigate the evolution of glacier hazards and evaluate the glacier thinning rate, we also used UAV data collected in 2014 and a digital elevation model (DEM) created from an aerial photogrammetric survey of 2007. We found that the integration between terrestrial and UAV photogrammetry is ideal for mapping hazards related to the glacier collapse, while TLS is affected by occlusions and is logistically complex in glacial terrain. Photogrammetric techniques can therefore replace TLS for glacier studies and UAV-based DEMs hold potential for becoming a standard tool in the investigation of glacier thickness changes. Based on our data sets, an increase in the size of collapses was found over the study period, and the glacier thinning rates went from 4.55 +/- 0.24ma(-1) between 2007 and 2014 to 5.20 +/- 1.11ma(-1) between 2014 and 2016.

Combination of UAV and terrestrial photogrammetry to assess rapid glacier evolution and map glacier hazards / D. Fugazza, M. Scaioni, M. Corti, C. D'Agata, R.S. Azzoni, M. Cernuschi, C. Smiraglia, And, G.A. Diolaiuti. - In: NATURAL HAZARDS AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES. - ISSN 1561-8633. - 18:4(2018), pp. 1055-1071.

Combination of UAV and terrestrial photogrammetry to assess rapid glacier evolution and map glacier hazards

D. Fugazza
Primo
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
C. D'Agata
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
R.S. Azzoni
Data Curation
;
C. Smiraglia
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
G.A. Diolaiuti
Ultimo
Supervision
2018

Abstract

Tourists and hikers visiting glaciers all year round face hazards such as sudden terminus collapses, typical of such a dynamically evolving environment. In this study, we analyzed the potential of different survey techniques to analyze hazards of the Forni Glacier, an important geosite located in Stelvio Park (Italian Alps). We carried out surveys in the 2016 ablation season and compared point clouds generated from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey, close-range photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). To investigate the evolution of glacier hazards and evaluate the glacier thinning rate, we also used UAV data collected in 2014 and a digital elevation model (DEM) created from an aerial photogrammetric survey of 2007. We found that the integration between terrestrial and UAV photogrammetry is ideal for mapping hazards related to the glacier collapse, while TLS is affected by occlusions and is logistically complex in glacial terrain. Photogrammetric techniques can therefore replace TLS for glacier studies and UAV-based DEMs hold potential for becoming a standard tool in the investigation of glacier thickness changes. Based on our data sets, an increase in the size of collapses was found over the study period, and the glacier thinning rates went from 4.55 +/- 0.24ma(-1) between 2007 and 2014 to 5.20 +/- 1.11ma(-1) between 2014 and 2016.
Stelvio National-Park; Ortles-Cevedale group; Italian alps; climate-change; mass balances; European Alps; French Alps; data sets; elevation; areas
Settore GEO/04 - Geografia Fisica e Geomorfologia
Settore ICAR/06 - Topografia e Cartografia
2018
2018
Article (author)
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/636027
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