Back to Search Start Over

Analysis of Seismic Impact on Hailuogou Glacier after the 2022 Luding Ms 6.8 Earthquake, China, Using SAR Offset Tracking Technology

Authors :
Weile Li
Junyi Chen
Huiyan Lu
Congwei Yu
Yunfeng Shan
Zhigang Li
Xiujun Dong
Qiang Xu
Source :
Remote Sensing, Vol 15, Iss 5, p 1468 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2023.

Abstract

An Ms 6.8 earthquake struck Luding County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province on 5 September 2022, with the epicenter about 10 km away from Hailuogou Glacier. How Hailuogou Glacier was affected by the earthquake was of major concern to society. Sentinel-1 SAR satellite imaging was used to monitor the glacier surface velocity during different periods before and after the Luding earthquake based on pixel offset tracking (POT) technology, which applies a feature-tracking algorithm to overcome the phase co-registration problems commonly encountered in large displacement monitoring. The results indicated that the velocity had a positive correlation with the average daily maximum temperature and the slope gradient on the small-slope surfaces. The correlation was not apparent on the steeper surfaces, which corresponded spatially with the identified ice avalanche region in the Planet images. It was deduced that this may be because of the occurrence of ice avalanches on surfaces steeper than 25°, or that the narrower front channel impeded the glacier’s movement. The Luding earthquake did not cause a significant increase in the velocity of Hailuogou Glacier within a large range, but it disturbed the front area of the ice cascade, where the maximum velocity reached 2.5 m/d. Although the possibility of directly-induced destruction by ice avalanches after the earthquake was low, and the buffering in the downstream glacier tongue further reduced the risk of ice avalanches, the risk of some secondary hazards such as debris flow increased. The proposed method in this study might be the most efficient in monitoring and evaluating the effects of strong earthquakes on glaciers because it would not be limited by undesirable weather or traffic blockage.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20724292
Volume :
15
Issue :
5
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Remote Sensing
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.f1ba01e6abd49ee99847afebaeba4a5
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051468