We are happy to announce that our colleague Sebastian Buchelt will defend his PhD thesis “Potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar time series for mapping and monitoring of small-scale periglacial processes in alpine environments” on February 11th at 12 pm at John-Skilton Straße 4a, Seminar Room 2/00.B.03. All interested staff, students, and members of the public are warmly invited to attend his presentation and the following discussion.
In his research, Sebastian Buchelt demonstrates that Sentinel-1 SAR time series can reliably detect snowmelt phases and characterize periglacial surface dynamics in the European Alps. Combining the results of an open-source DInSAR workflow for Sentinel-1 multi-orbit data with geophysical electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements reveal systematic links between subsurface conditions, geomorphological context, and surface movement patterns. Results show that preferably stable, talus-connected rock glaciers are best suited for monitoring the parameter rock glacier velocity (RGV) of the essential climate variable (ECV) Permafrost. Areas of former glacial-periglacial interaction are often dominated by subsidence and seasonal degradation processes and, therefore, less suitable. Hence, DInSAR-derived displacement, movement direction, and seasonality enable detailed delineation of active permafrost creep zones as well as identification of previously unrecognized subunits. Overall, the combined use of SAR and geophysical data provides a powerful framework for large-scale, long-term monitoring of alpine permafrost and its response to climate change.
First author publications during PhD:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/esp.5993
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/12/2982
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/625/2022/
