Mapping Glacier Forelands Based on UAV BVLOS Operation in Antarctica

The aim of this article is to show geomorphological mapping of remote Antarctic locations usingimagestakenbyafixed-wingunmannedaerialvehicle(UAV)duringtheBeyondVisualLineof Sight (BVLOS) operations. We mapped landform assemblages developed in forelands of Ecology Glacier (EGF), Sphinx Glacier (SGF) and Baranowski Glacier (BGF) in Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 128 (ASPA 128) on King George Island (South Shetland Islands) and inferred about glacial dynamics. The orthophoto and digital elevation model allowed for geomorphological mapping of glacial forelands, including (i) glacial depositional landforms, (ii) fluvial and fluvioglacial landforms, (iii) littoral and lacustrine landforms, (iv) bodies of water, and (v) other. The largest area is occupied by ground moraine and glacial lagoons on EGF and BGF. The most profound features of EGF are the largelatero-frontalmoraineridgesfromLittleIceAgeandthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury. Largeareas of ground moraine, frequently fluted and marked with large recessional moraine ridges, dominate on SGF. A significant percentage of bedrock outcrops and end moraine complexes characterize BGF. The landform assemblages are typical for discontinuous fast ice flow of tidewater glaciers over a deformable bed. It is inferred that ice flow velocity decreased as a result of recession from the sea coast, resulting in a significant decrease in the length of ice cliffs and decrease in calving rate. Image acquisition during the fixed-wing UAV BVLOS operation proved to be a very robust technique in harsh polar conditions of King George Island

Application of UAV BVLOS remote sensing data for multi-faceted analysis of Antarctic ecosystem

A photogrammetric flight was performed in December 2016 as BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) operation over Penguin Island (South Shetland Islands, Western Antarctica). Images were taken by the PW-ZOOM fixed-wing UAV equipped with a digital SLR Canon 700D camera. The flight was performed at 550 m ASL and covered a total distance of 231.58 km. The plane takeoff and landing site was near the H. Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station (Arctowski) on King George Island, South Shetlands. The main aim of the mission was to collect environmental data to estimate the size of penguin and pinniped breeding populations and to map vegetation cover and landforms. The plane returned to Arctowski with 1630 images of Penguin Island with the ground sample distance (GSD) lower than 0.07 m. The analysis of developed ortophoto allowed us to locate and identify individuals of two penguin species (Adélie and chinstrap), and individuals of two species of pinnipeds (Southern elephant seal and Weddell seal). Three types of tundra communities were mapped together with numerous landforms such as: volcanic, mass movement, fluvial, coastal and aeolian ones. The UAV BVLOS photogram-metric operation proved to be very robust in gathering valuable qualitative and quantitative data necessary for monitoring distant and isolated polar environments

Should Glaciers Be Considered Permafrost?

This commentary critically evaluates concepts of extending the term permafrost to any parts of an active glacier. The whole mass of any glacier is at zero centigrade or below (cryotic), except for non-ice inclusions at the glacier surface. Therefore, if glacial ice is considered a monomineral rock, then any glacier constitutes a perennially cryotic ground (i.e., permafrost), according to the purely thermal definition. However, extending the term permafrost to active glaciers introduces misconceptions, rather than a clarification of important geological terms

Reflectance spectroscopy in geology and soil sciences: Literature review

This article presents a literature review of studies utilising reflectance spectroscopy in geological research. We describe a variety of available spectral libraries together with providing examples of spectral reflectance diagrams, and explain the basic spectral ranges. Geologists can use different methods of data collection, for example, sensors mounted on satellites, airborne [including unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms] or portable spectroradiometers, and different ways of data processing. Most geological mapping based on reflectance spectroscopy is performed in the Arctic region, where vegetation does not obscure images. However, mineral mapping, studies of hot spring deposits, and rock/soil weathering alterations are also performed in lower latitudes. The development, combination and unifi-cation of all spectral data acquisition methods open up new possibilities for applications in a variety of geological and soil studies

Cavernous weathering forms in SW Iceland: a case study on weathering of basalts in a cold temperate maritime climate

The article is a case study of the development of cavernous weathering forms (alveoli and tafoni) on a sea cliff near Keflavik on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland. The majority of forms are found on vertical or inclined rock faces and cluster around the uppermost edge of the cliff. Single hollows gradually evolve due to back wearing of their sidewalls into complex caverns, until finally the whole outermost layer of basalt is removed. Particular attention is paid to mineralogical changes of basalts due to chemical and salt weathering. Chemical decomposition of feldspars, pyroxenes and olivines followed by precipitation of iron on and within the weathering rind, the presence of micro- and macro-pores such as gas bubbles and delivery of marine salts are proposed to be the key factors influencing cavern development

Lichenometry and Schmidt hammer tests in the Kaunertal glacier foreland (Ötztal Alps) during the AMADEE-15 Mars Mission Simulation

The aim of this article is to show the results of the lichenometrical and Schmidt hammer measurements performed in 2015 during the AMADEE-15 Mars Mission Simulation in the Ötztal Alps in order to test the capabilities of analogue astronauts and collect information on the geomorphic history of the study area since the Little Ice Age (LIA). The results obtained differ significantly from our expectations, which we attribute to differences in the field experience of participants and the astronauts’ technical limitations in terms of mobility. However, the experiments proved that these methods are within the range of the astronauts’ capabilities. Environmental factors, such as i) varied petrography, ii) varied number of thalli in test polygons, and iii) differences in topoclimatic conditions between the LIA moraine and the glacier front, further inhibited simple interpretation. The LIA maximum of the Kaunertal glacier occurred in AD 1850, and relative stabilization of the frontal part of the rock glacier occurred in AD 1711

Cavernous weathering forms in SW Iceland: a case study on weathering of basalts in a cold temperate maritime climate

The article is a case study of the development of cavernous weathering forms (alveoli and tafoni) on a sea cliff near Keflavik on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland. The majority of forms are found on vertical or inclined rock faces and cluster around the uppermost edge of the cliff. Single hollows gradually evolve due to back wearing of their sidewalls into complex caverns, until finally the whole outermost layer of basalt is removed. Particular attention is paid to mineralogical changes of basalts due to chemical and salt weathering. Chemical decomposition of feldspars, pyroxenes and olivines followed by precipitation of iron on and within the weathering rind, the presence of micro- and macro-pores such as gas bubbles and delivery of marine salts are proposed to be the key factors influencing cavern development