600
July 2014
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
Remote Sensing Challenges in
Mountainous Regions
John All, Executive Director, American Climber Science Program;
Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University
Remote sensing technology is advancing at a dizzying pace as ever more accurate
sensors and analysis techniques emerge. However, while this cornucopia provides
us with seemingly unlimited tools, there is still the need for ground reference data
and other ancillary data so that the radiative transfer state variables translate into
biophysical variables of interest. The American Climber Science Program (ACSP) is on
the cutting edge of this process as we explore some of the harshest areas on Earth –
from Central American mountain rain forest to the summit of Mt. Everest - and gather
data that is integrated through remote sensing to create holistic understandings of
these environmental systems. The ACSP is an integrated research program designed
to facilitate field data collection opportunities for scientists in regions that are difficult
to access. Scientists and climbers come
together for expeditions to collect in situ data for
scientific projects and to share their enthusiasm
for the mountains. Research expeditions are
also designed to provide opportunities for non-
scientists to learn about scientific practices as
well as to instruct future scientists on safety in
mountain regions.
The ACSP’s central tenet is integrated re-
search and our expeditions are formed of sci-
entists and students from diverse disciplines.
Each participant leads their individual project
and also assists in data gathering for all of
the expedition studies. We gather a variety of
ground data: from spectroradiometer readings
to glacier particulate composition and quanti-
ty to interviews of local yak herders on grazing
patterns. This information is then integrated and
regionalized using remote sensing data to help inform local resource management and
conservation efforts in coordination with various stakeholders. At the end of the day,
we seek out research projects with maximum societal benefit and scientific innovation.
Over the next year, we will be periodically sharing ACSP work from Central America,
Africa, the Himalayas, and the Andes as
PE&RS
Highlight articles. More information
can be found about the ACSP at
or
.
org and we invite collaborators in all disciplines.
Our first example will be from the ACSP Cordillera Blanca expeditions in Peru. In
association with
the American Alpine Club, the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment,
Huascaran National Park, and several Peruvian Universities, the ACSP has conducted
research expeditions where, among other things, we have sampled anthropogenic
pollutants deposited on glaciers. These pollutants can lead to increased glacier melt
rates and the article which follows discusses the issues involved in using remote
sensing techniques to detect these pollutants.
John All collecting ground reference data above the
Khumbu Valley in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal.
In past issues of
PE&RS
, the American
Climber
Science
Program
(www.
climberscience.com) has been sharing var-
ious aspects of its research experiences
that employ remote sensing and geospatial
technologies to study some of the harshest
environments on Earth, but no descrip-
tion of mountain research is complete
without a trip to Mt.
Everest. Members
of the ACSP team
were on the slopes of
Mt. Everest (Spring/
Summer 2014) col-
lecting data on gla-
cier retreat and
changes in albedo
in order to examine
the stability of these
massive
glaciers
in a warming envi-
ronment just before
this article was pub-
lished. Much of this
type of work—that
combines data collection at high eleva-
tions with remote sensing to address cut-
ting-edge questions on glacier dynamics—
was discussed in Schmitt et al. (2014). But
the avalanche on Mt. Everest that killed 16
people also killed one of our team members
and sent much of our equipment deep into
a crevasse—along with three Sherpa bod-
ies that will never be recovered. It was a
grim reminder that mountains are always
dangerous places. We shifted our research
to Mt. Himlung on the Tibet/Nepal border
C
onnecting
E
nvironmen
R
egion
of
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