Landsat TM derived and in situ summer reflectance of glaciers in Svalbard

Abstract

The paper presents satellite-derived and in situ reflectance from the Austre Brøggerbreen and Midre Lovenbreen glaciers located 78°50'N, 11°50'E in the Svalbard archipelago. The satellite data are Landsat-5 TM images recorded on 7 August 1987 and 31 August 1988. In situ measurements of shortwave and spectral reflectance of snow, glacier ice and moraine were carried out in August 1991 and in June 1992. In 1987, Austre Brøggerbreen had a positive net mass balance of +0.22 m of water equivalent while the net mass balance in 1988 was negative (-0.52 m). This is reflected in the atmospherically corrected satellite-derived albedo which shows that the reflective characteristics of the ablation and accumulation zones are more uniform and better separated in 1987 than in 1988. Besides the long-term year to year variations of surface albedo, the glaciers show a considerable short-term as well as spatial variability in reflectance. For example, the satellite-derived TM Band 4 albedo was found to vary between 0.19 an...