Height change detection in Antarcita using satellite altimetry data and Kriging / Kalman filtering techniques

Studies of the response of ice sheets to climate change require data sets with high accuracy and uniform ice-sheet coverage. The most common technique used in analyzing satellite altimetry data to study height change in the ice sheets is the dH/dt technique based on the cross-over geometry. In this thesis two alternative techniques to cross-overs are studied and applied to all ERS radar and ICESat laser altimetry data to study height change in Antarctica. The first technique, block kriging, uses all available data to build a statistical model of the elevation field. Results of height rate of changes dh/dt ill Antarctica for the years 1995-2001 produced using block kriging and cross-over analysis are compared. In the Amery Ice Shelf and in the West Antarctic coastal area and near latitude -81°N, the difference in dh/dt between the two methods are statistically significant. A second technique combines kriging and Kalman filtering to allow for time evolutions of the height change rate and other parameters used in the description of the surface elevation field. An application of the technique to laser altimetry data from the current NASA's ICESat mission shows the potential of the technique in detecting height change.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Nguyen, An Thanh-Thuy

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Thomas A. Herring.

• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34664
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Identifier URI

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34664

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34664