Abstract

Terrestrial, airborne and spaceborne photogrammetry can be employed in glaciological research to obtain accurate 3D glacier surface information. This information is essential in glaciological modelling, volume change and geomorphological mapping, particularly in those glaciers located in remote and harsh terrain. In this project, vertical aerial photographs of the Tasman Glacier from 2008 were used to derive a new high-resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM). Results were obtained using a digital photogrammetric workstation. A bundle block adjustment was calculated employing 15 ground control points and 750 semiautomatic tie points distributed over 49 photographs. Customized strategies were employed in different areas depending on the condition of the surface to optimize the performance of the automatic terrain extraction. It is suggested that this DTM needs to be manually inspected and corrected on low contrast areas (high accumulation areas) due to noticeable errors in the surface. This DTM constitutes the newest and highest resolution dataset available for the Tasman Glacier.