QUANTIFICATION OF GLACIER DEPLETION IN THE CENTRAL TIBETAN PLATEAU BY USING INTEGRATED SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING AND GRAVIMETRY

Although not the primary mission of the Swarm three-satellite constellation, the sensors on these satellites are accurate enough to measure the melting and accumulation of Earth’s ice reservoirs, precipitation cycles, floods, and droughts, amongst others. Swarm sees these changes well compared to the dedicated GRACE satellites at spatial scales of roughly 1500 km. Swarm confirms most GRACE observations, such as the large ice melting in Greenland and the wet and dry seasons in the Amazon.

This paper investigates the possibility of monitoring small water bodies through Envisat altimetry observation. A novel approach is introduced to identify qualified and non-qualified altimetry measurements by assessing the waveform shapes for each returned radar signal. This research indicates that small lakes (extent < 100 km2) and medium-sized rivers (e.g., 200--800 m in width) can be successfully monitored by satellite altimetry.