Seasonal variations in proglacial lake area revealed by high spatial resolution planetscope satellite imagery
Seasonal variations in proglacial lake area revealed by high spatial resolution planetscope satellite imagery
Seasonal variations in proglacial lakes are often omitted from long-term records of lake behaviour due to the trade-off between high-spatial versus high-temporal resolution satellite imagery. Understanding the impact of these short-term fluctuations on long-term studies of proglacial lake growth is essential for accurately predicting future growth, as well as for understanding the risk of jökulhlaups or glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Here, we use high spatial resolution (3.7 m) PlanetScope imagery to detect short-term variations in the area of Fjallsárlón, a large proglacial lake in southeast Iceland. We demonstrate that between 2017 and 2023, moderate resolution imagery underestimates seasonal variations in lake behaviour by ~7% compared with PlanetScope imagery. In addition, the use of a single image from summer months (June to August) underestimates the annual maximum lake area by up to ~2%. The omission of these short-term variations in longer-term studies risks misrepresenting patterns of lake growth and behaviour, which has implications for glacier retreat, contribution to sea level rise and downstream flood risk from GLOFs.
Andrews, Amelia
2013a43c-bf6e-4125-8b98-84ecd75f19d7
Hart, Jane
e949a885-7b26-4544-9e15-32ba6f87e49a
Baurley, Nathaniel Ross
d567850b-2030-4d33-8d1d-5fcad6e60417
Dash, Jadu
51468afb-3d56-4d3a-aace-736b63e9fac8
8 February 2026
Andrews, Amelia
2013a43c-bf6e-4125-8b98-84ecd75f19d7
Hart, Jane
e949a885-7b26-4544-9e15-32ba6f87e49a
Baurley, Nathaniel Ross
d567850b-2030-4d33-8d1d-5fcad6e60417
Dash, Jadu
51468afb-3d56-4d3a-aace-736b63e9fac8
Andrews, Amelia, Hart, Jane, Baurley, Nathaniel Ross and Dash, Jadu
(2026)
Seasonal variations in proglacial lake area revealed by high spatial resolution planetscope satellite imagery.
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 51 (2).
(doi:10.1002/esp.70253).
Abstract
Seasonal variations in proglacial lakes are often omitted from long-term records of lake behaviour due to the trade-off between high-spatial versus high-temporal resolution satellite imagery. Understanding the impact of these short-term fluctuations on long-term studies of proglacial lake growth is essential for accurately predicting future growth, as well as for understanding the risk of jökulhlaups or glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Here, we use high spatial resolution (3.7 m) PlanetScope imagery to detect short-term variations in the area of Fjallsárlón, a large proglacial lake in southeast Iceland. We demonstrate that between 2017 and 2023, moderate resolution imagery underestimates seasonal variations in lake behaviour by ~7% compared with PlanetScope imagery. In addition, the use of a single image from summer months (June to August) underestimates the annual maximum lake area by up to ~2%. The omission of these short-term variations in longer-term studies risks misrepresenting patterns of lake growth and behaviour, which has implications for glacier retreat, contribution to sea level rise and downstream flood risk from GLOFs.
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Earth Surf Processes Landf - 2026 - Andrews - Seasonal variations in proglacial lake area revealed by high spatial
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Accepted/In Press date: 13 January 2026
Published date: 8 February 2026
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Local EPrints ID: 510740
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/510740
ISSN: 0197-9337
PURE UUID: d26cb5bb-1cb6-4664-bb5b-81bb9dc6d00d
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Date deposited: 20 Apr 2026 16:53
Last modified: 21 Apr 2026 02:05
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Author:
Amelia Andrews
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