Evaluate ERTS imagery for mapping and detection of changes of snowcover on land and on glaciers
The author has identified the following significant results. Snowlines on a small (6 sq km) drainage basin were accurately measured without use of digital processing, and snow patches as small as 150 m (maximum dimension) were correctly identified, proving that the resolution of ERTS is ample for snow mapping needs. The area of snow cover on 10 individual drainage basins in the North Cascades, Washington, has been determined at 12 different times; these data can be used for more accurate forecasts of streamflow. Progress has been made in distinguishing snow in trees using multispectral analysis. Motion of the surging Tweedsmuir Glacier was measured. Velocities ranged from 2 to 88 m per day; a zone of intense crevassing also appeared to spread up and down the glacier (at about 200 m per day upglacier). This tentative result may be of great importance to an understanding of surging glacier dynamics. ERTS images also show that the most recent debris flow (20-21 August 1973) from Mount Baker can be clearly discerned and mapped, in order to monitor this potential hazard.