Error sources and guidelines for quality assessment of glacier area, elevation change, and velocity products derived from satellite data in the Glaciers_cci project

Paul, Frank and Bolch, Tobias and Briggs, Kate and Kääb, Andreas and McMillan, Malcolm and McNabb, Robert and Nagler, Thomas and Nuth, Christopher and Rastner, Philipp and Strozzi, Tazio and Wuite, Jan (2017) Error sources and guidelines for quality assessment of glacier area, elevation change, and velocity products derived from satellite data in the Glaciers_cci project. Remote Sensing of Environment, 203. pp. 256-275. ISSN 0034-4257

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Abstract

Satellite data provide a large range of information on glacier dynamics and changes. Results are often reported, provided and used without consideration of measurement accuracy (difference to a true value) and precision (variability of independent assessments). Whereas accuracy might be difficult to determine due to the limited availability of appropriate reference data and the complimentary nature of satellite measurements, precision can be obtained from a large range of measures with a variable effort for determination. This study provides a systematic overview on the factors influencing accuracy and precision of glacier area, elevation change (from altimetry and DEM differencing), and velocity products derived from satellite data, along with measures for calculating them. A tiered list of recommendations is provided (sorted for effort from Level 0 to 3) as a guide for analysts to apply what is possible given the datasets used and available to them. The more simple measures to describe product quality (Levels 0 and 1) can often easily be applied and should thus always be reported. Medium efforts (Level 2) require additional work but provide a more realistic assessment of product precision. Real accuracy assessment (Level 3) requires independent and coincidently acquired reference data with high accuracy. However, these are rarely available and their transformation into an unbiased source of information is challenging. This overview is based on the experiences and lessons learned in the ESA project Glaciers_cci rather than a review of the literature.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Remote Sensing of Environment
Additional Information:
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Remote Sensing of Environment. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Remote Sensing of Environment, 203, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2017.08.038
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1903
Subjects:
?? CCIECV MONITORINGELEVATION CHANGEGLACIERSOUTLINESQUALITY MEASURESSATELLITE DATAVELOCITYSOIL SCIENCEGEOLOGYCOMPUTERS IN EARTH SCIENCES ??
ID Code:
128840
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
07 Nov 2018 08:54
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
16 Sep 2023 01:49