The glacier movement estimation and analysis with InSAR in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

The glacier is important factor in climatological and hydrological investigations, especially in the western China. Glacier changes are among the clearest signals of on-going warming trends existing in nature. In view of environmental changes, combined with the high thermal sensitivity of earth´s mountain glaciers, especially in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, is of growing interest. SAR systems have an important ability to observe the earth´s surface, independent of cloud conditions. Particularly, the SAR interferometry provides a useful tool for monitoring the velocity of glacier movement. For accurate measurement of glacier movement with InSAR data, the suitable method of retrieving velocity of glacier motion need be considered for the different type of glaciers in case of the difference of the characteristics of surface and movement velocity. In this paper, we use the SAR interferometry to derive the movement of several types of glaciers and analyze the characteristics of different glaciers type, such as continental glacier, sub-continental glacier and maritime glacier, and demonstrate the method and results for the glacier motion in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.