was 75% accurate. This can be seen in table 3 of the appendix. For reference data, we used our Landsat images because other accurate images were not acquirable for our dates. Results and Discussion: After completing our classifications, change detection, and analysis of our data a loss of ice from the glacier was clearly seen and quantified. As stated above there was a 12% and 37.5 square miles loss of glacier mass over the 33 year time period. On average there is 1 square mile lost per year. We would expect that to intensify as time goes on. This is due to increased average temperatures, decreased snowfall, and as the glacier gets smaller it will melt faster because it has less overall mass. With our results you can clearly see that there is a significant change to Iceland’s Mýrdalsjökull glacier spanning the time gap. However we did encounter limitations. In an ideal situation we would have liked to use data from one satellite. The two satellites are very different and increased the difficulty of our change detection. Since Landsat 7’s scan line corrector failed the quality of images drastically decreased. We also would have liked to use images that didn’t have cloud cover. When we classified our image the unsupervised classification misclassified the clouds as glaciers. This was also seen when we did our accuracy assessment. If we could do our project over we would have liked to find a way to see the change between winter and summer. Initially this was our goal but it was difficult because we were unable to see the boundary of our study area due to the winter snow and ice accumulation. It would also be interesting to see how the volume of the glacier would change over time. Implications: It is hard to determine what will happen in the future and the rate at which it will but the loss of glaciers would be detrimental to the Icelandic way of life. Icelanders use glaciers to induce tourism; 1000’s flock to the glaciers each year to hike and experience day excursions. Rivers are harnessed to provide inexpensive hydroelectric energy; this is how much of the population in Iceland receives its electrical energy. Many of the rivers are fed by glacier melting. If the glaciers all melt new forms of energy would need to be developed or they would need to import sources of energy. Icelanders also receive most of their fresh drinking water from glacier
was 75% accurate. This can be seen in table 3 of the appendix. For reference data, we used our Landsat images because other accurate images were not acquirable for our dates. Results and Discussion: After completing our classifications, change detection, and analysis of our data a loss of ice from the glacier was clearly seen and quantified. As stated above there was a 12% and 37.5 square miles loss of glacier mass over the 33 year time period. On average there is 1 square mile lost per year. We would expect that to intensify as time goes on. This is due to increased average temperatures, decreased snowfall, and as the glacier gets smaller it will melt faster because it has less overall mass. With our results you can clearly see that there is a significant change to Iceland’s Mýrdalsjökull glacier spanning the time gap. However we did encounter limitations. In an ideal situation we would have liked to use data from one satellite. The two satellites are very different and increased the difficulty of our change detection. Since Landsat 7’s scan line corrector failed the quality of images drastically decreased. We also would have liked to use images that didn’t have cloud cover. When we classified our image the unsupervised classification misclassified the clouds as glaciers. This was also seen when we did our accuracy assessment. If we could do our project over we would have liked to find a way to see the change between winter and summer. Initially this was our goal but it was difficult because we were unable to see the boundary of our study area due to the winter snow and ice accumulation. It would also be interesting to see how the volume of the glacier would change over time. Implications: It is hard to determine what will happen in the future and the rate at which it will but the loss of glaciers would be detrimental to the Icelandic way of life. Icelanders use glaciers to induce tourism; 1000’s flock to the glaciers each year to hike and experience day excursions. Rivers are harnessed to provide inexpensive hydroelectric energy; this is how much of the population in Iceland receives its electrical energy. Many of the rivers are fed by glacier melting. If the glaciers all melt new forms of energy would need to be developed or they would need to import sources of energy. Icelanders also receive most of their fresh drinking water from glacier
myrdalsjokull_glacier.docx