APPLICATIONS OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY TO SURVEYS OF GLACIERS IN CANADA AND ALASKA

Abstract

The paper emphasizes that the choice of a proper procedure is essential for efficient glacier surveying. Terrestrial versus aerial photogrammetry and the use of electronic surveying procedures versus triangulation have been tested in surveys on the Athabasca and Saskatchewan glaciers, and on glaciers in northern Ellesmere Island, southeastern Alaska, and the Yukon Territory. The Otto Fiord glacier survey in northern Ellesmere Island demonstrates that no ground control is needed for volumetric glacier studies. Accurate maps needed for other studies depend on the establishment of control. Control can most efficiently be determined by tellurometer and phototheodolite with helicopter support, as shown in Alaskan glacier surveys. For large glaciers phototopography provides a good means of extending control from tellurometer traverse stations, as demonstrated in the Mount Kennedy survey. Simple one-color maps are an economical means of preserving survey results for future glaciological evaluation.