Application of Satellite Geodesy in

Environmental and Climate change

Introduction to Geodesy (CE678A)
Instructor: Maj Gen (Dr.) B. Nagarajan

Alok Verma
14070
Department of Civil Engineering
November 2nd, 2017
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Abstract- Satellite geodesy plays an important role in the
observation of Earth. This abstract presents three applications of
satellite geodesy in environmental and climate change. The
techniques of satellite geodesy that are to be used to obtain the data
are: Global Positioning System (GPS), the Gravity Recovery and
Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Interferometric Synthetic
Aperture Radar (InSAR). In the first study, GPS can be used to
study the annual changes in mass loss of the Arctic Circle ice
sheet. The data will be both spatial and temporal variations of
coastal ice mass loss and suggest that a combination of warm
atmospheric and oceanic condition drove these variations. In the
second study, GRACE can be used to observe monthly gravity
change estimates to constrain recent freshwater flux from Arctic
Circle. The data will show that Arctic freshwater flux started to
increase rapidly in the mid-late 1990s, coincident with a decrease
in the formation of dense Labrador Sea Water, a key component
of the deep southward return flow of the Atlantic Meridional
Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Recent freshening of the polar
oceans may be reducing formation of Labrador Sea Water and
hence may be weakening the AMOC. In the third study, InSAR
can be used to obtain data that how ground deformation caused by
CO2 injection at an enhanced oil recovery site in west Texas.
Carbon capture and storage can reduce CO2 emitted from power
plants, and is a promising way to mitigate anthropogenic warming.
From rough study, since 2007 to 2011, approximately 24 million
tons of CO2 were sequestered in this field, causing up to 10 MPa
pressure build-up in a reservoir at depth, and surface uplift up to
10 cm. This study suggests that surface displacement observed by
InSAR is a cost-effective way to estimate reservoir pressure
change and monitor the fate of injected fluids at waste disposal
and CO2 injection sites.
Keywords- Global Positioning System (GPS) Gravity Recovery
and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Interferometric Synthetic
Aperture Radar (InSAR) Atlantic Meridional Overturning
Circulation (AMOC) Satellite Altimetry Laser Altimetry
I. INTRODUCTION
S atellite geodesy is the measurement of the size and shape of
the earth as well as its gravity field by means of artificial
satellites. Satellite geodesy is a powerful tool to monitor time
variations in the Earth related to plate tectonics, post-glacial
rebounds, ocean circulation, ground water extraction, and a host
of other natural and anthropogenic processes. This dissertation
focuses on the application of satellite geodesy to studies of
environmental and climate change. Therefore these three
techniques can be used:
1. High precision Global Positioning System (GPS)
2. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR)
3. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE).
High precision GPS has been used to study a number of Earth
processes, including plate motion, fault-related crustal
deformation, and coastal subsidence. Many of these applications
involve looking at long-term rates of surface deformation, where
the displacement rate can be assumed constant over the
measurement period, typically several years or longer. In a number
of Earth processes, however, it is also useful to consider short-term
fluctuations. Many of these applications involve changes in
Earths fluid envelope, for example annual loading and unloading
of the crust associated with the hydrologic cycle. Accelerating
uplift of the coastal regions of Greenland, where most of the
current mass loss is concentrated. More recent measurements
suggest that accelerating melting of Greenland ice sheet is
continuing, with some melting seasons experiencing significant
ice mass loss. Thus, the short-term annual variation of coastal
uplift measured by GPS can be useful in studying variable and
accelerating ice mass loss.
Generally, ice mass change is regulated by two climate factors,
atmospheric forcing and oceanic force. Atmospheric force can
affect surface mass balance (SMB) by changing either or both the
snow accumulation rate and the ablation rate. Also, melt water can
influence the basal sliding rate. Oceanic force can increase
submarine melting of marine-terminating outlet glaciers, resulting
in rapid changes in calving rate, and inducing dynamic changes
upstream, including glacier acceleration and thinning. GRACE
satellite data documents mass loss, which clearly shows that loss
is concentrated along the coast. These data lack the spatial
resolution to investigate melting at the scale of individual drainage
basins. However, coastal uplift as measured by GPS is sensitive to
ice loss at this scale, which allows assessment of the influence of
local climate conditions on melting. In this dissertation, both
short-term and long-term surface deformation processes measured
by GPS is utilized to understand the climatic forcing on mass loss.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a
major mode of ocean thermohaline circulation. It is driven by
density differences in the Atlantic Ocean, and is a key component
of the global climate system. GRACE data can be used to estimate
the recent freshwater flux from Greenland and investigates its
impact on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Both
theoretical and numerical studies show that the AMOC is sensitive
to freshwater balance because of the strong influence on sea water
density (Stommel, 1961; Rooth, 1982; Rahmstorf, 1995; Stouffer
et al., 2006). Past abrupt climate changes have been linked with
changes in the AMOC in response to changes in the freshwater
budget. Recent anthropogenic warming and accelerated melting of
the Greenland ice sheet is leading to a general freshening of the
North Atlantic, raising concerns that the AMOC may soon be
disrupted.
InSAR to study reservoir pressure change caused by fluid injection
and production at an enhanced oil recovery field. Similar to GPS,
InSAR has been used to study a number of Earth processes.
Particularly, it has been used to monitor ground subsidence
associated with oil and gas extraction. As oil reservoirs have been
drawn down in the last few decades, producers have increasingly
applied enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques to increase the
amount of oil that can be extracted from a given oil field. This
usually involves pumping of CO2 or saline water into the reservoir,
and raising the reservoir pressure. Similar techniques are used in
fracking (hydraulic fracturing) to stimulate natural gas
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production, and later, to get rid of water. In some regions, there is
concern that rapid pumping of water fluids into deep reservoirs
can stimulate induced seismicity. Here, there is a need for research
into the rock mechanical and fluid mechanical processes involved
in such fluid pumping. There is also interest in pumping CO2 from
I. ANNUAL VARIATION OF COASTAL UPLIFT
AS AN INDICATOR OF VARIABLE AND
ACCELERATING ICE MASS LOSS
Like a glacier, an ice sheet forms through the accumulation of
snowfall, when annual snowfall exceeds annual snowmelt. Over
thousands of years, the layers of snow build up, forming a flowing
sheet of ice thousands of feet thick and tens to thousands of miles
across. As the ice thickens, the increasing height of snow and ice
causes the ice sheet to deform and begin to flow.
Unlike a glacier, which generally flows in one direction, an ice
field flows outward in all directions from the center. If an ice field
covers more than 50,000 square kilometers (20,000 square miles),
it is defined as an ice sheet. Although ice sheets covered much of
the Northern Hemisphere during a series of Pleistocene Ice Ages,
the Earth now has just two major ice sheets, one on Greenland and
one on Antarctica.
Figure 1: Edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet near Kangerlussuaq on the
west coast.
Figure 2: Nimrod Glacier flowing through the Transantarctic
Mountains on the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
industrial plants into deep geological formations for large-scale
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), thereby reducing CO2
emissions to the atmosphere.
The Greenland Ice Sheet covers roughly 1.7 million square
kilometers (650,000 square miles). The Antarctic Ice Sheet
covers nearly 14 million square kilometers (5.4 million square
miles), and is divided into three sections: the East Antarctic Ice
Sheet, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Together, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets hold about 99
percent of the world's freshwater ice. If the Greenland Ice Sheet
melted away completely, sea level would rise roughly 7 meters,
or 23 feet (Gregory et al. 2004). If the entire Antarctic Ice Sheet
melted, sea level would rise by about 57 meters, or 187 feet
(Lythe et al. 2001). While this is unlikely for the foreseeable
future, even a partial loss of these huge ice masses could have a
significant effect on coastal areas. At present, both ice sheets are
shrinking, but the rate is small (in terms of sea level contribution,
on the order of about 1 millimeter per year).
A. ICE SHEET STRUCRURE, FLOW, METING,
AND FRACTURE
The Greenland and East Antarctic Ice Sheets are roughly 3,000
to 4,000 meters (10,000 to 13,000 feet) high at their summits.
The West Antarctic and the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheets are
about 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) high.
Ice sheet flow is a function of surface slope and ice thickness.
Near the summit of the ice sheet, where the slope is the lowest,
flow speeds are generally a few centimeters to a few meters per
year. Along fast-flowing outlet glaciers, ice speeds can reach
hundreds of meters or even several kilometers per year.
Figure 3: Ice sheet components: Multiple factors, such as snowfall,
ablation, underlying topography, ocean water, even simple gravity, all
interact in shaping ice sheets.
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Ice sheets flow outward from their dome-like centers, where they
are generally thickest, and push ice outward until they encounter
ocean, or where climate is warm enough to melt the ice faster
than the combined flow rate and winter snowfall. In areas where
summer surface melt exceeds winter snowfall, old interior layers
in the ice sheet are exposed. The ice sheet becomes thin,
meltwater runs off the surface of the ice, and the ice sheet may
terminate on land. However, for much of Greenland and
Antarctica, ice flow terminates at the ocean, as a tidewater
glacier (not fully afloat) or an ice tongue or ice shelf (fully
floating thick permanent ice above the ocean). In these areas, the
location of the edge of the ice sheet is very sensitive to both
ocean condition and the amount of ice fracturing (crevasses or
rifts). Areas with some ocean heat can rapidly melt the floating
ice from the underside, thinning the ice sheet and making it
weaker. Stresses from ice flowing over bedrock or around islands
causes fracturing, and at the front edge of the ice this fracturing
leads to iceberg calving.
B. ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE
A key area of glaciological study in recent years is ice sheet mass
balance. The mass balance of an ice sheet is the difference
between its total snow input and the total loss through melting,
ablation, or calving. So long as an ice sheet gains an equal mass
through snowfall as it loses through melt, ablation, and calving
from glaciers and ice shelves, it is said to be in balance. Because
ice sheets contain so much ice and have the potential to raise or
lower global sea level so dramatically, measuring the mass
balance of the ice sheets and tracking any mass balance changes
and their causes is very important for forecasting sea level rise.
Scientists monitor ice sheet mass balance through a variety of
techniques. No measurement method is perfect, however, and ice
sheets' sheer size makes exact measurement difficult.
C. MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES FOR ICE
SHEET MASS BALANCE
Scientists have adopted three general approaches to ice sheet
mass balance measurement: comparing outflow and melt to
snowfall accumulation (the mass budget method), observing
changes in glacier elevation (volume change or geodetic
method), and detecting changes in the Earths gravity field over
the ice sheet (gravimetric method).
The study of ice sheet mass balance underwent two major
advances, one during the early 1990s, and again early in the
2000s. At the beginning of the 1990s, scientists were unsure of
the sign (positive or negative) of the mass balance of Greenland
or Antarctica, and knew only that it could not be changing
rapidly relative to the size of the ice sheet. Advances in glacier
ice flow mapping using repeat satellite images, and later using
interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) methods,
facilitated the mass budget approach, although this still requires
an estimate of snow input and a cross-section of the glacier as it
flows out from the continent and becomes floating ice. Satellite
radar altimetry mapping and change detection, developed in the
early to mid-1990s allowed the research community to finally
extract reliable quantitative information regarding the overall
growth or reduction of the volume of the ice sheets. By 2002,
publications were able to report that both large ice sheets were
losing mass (Rignot and Thomas 2002). Then in 2003 the launch
of two new satellites, ICESat and GRACE, led to vast
improvements in one of the methods for mass balance
determination, volume change, and introduced the ability to
conduct gravimetric measurements of ice sheet mass over time.
The gravimetric method helped to resolve remaining questions
about how and where the ice sheets were losing mass. With this
third method, and with continued evolution of mass budget and
geodetic methods it was shown that the ice sheets were in fact
losing mass at an accelerating rate by the end of the 2000s.
D. CASE STUDIES OF ICE SHEET MASS
BALANCE BUDGET METHOD
Remote sensing data measuring the velocity of Jakobshavn Isbr
(a fast-moving glacier on the west coast of Greenland) showed
that between 1992 and 2003, the glacier exhibited a large
increase in velocity. The data indicated that large glaciers can
alter their ice discharge at timescales less than a decade, much
faster than previously thought.
Figure 4: These images show the glacier in February 1992 (left) and
October 2000 (right). Estimated flow speeds are marked by colour, with
purple indicating the highest rate. Black lines show 1,000-meter-per-
year speed intervals, and white lines show 200, 400, 6
Researchers used RADARSAT synthetic aperture radar to map
ice flow velocity over Greenland for the winters of 2000-2001
and 2005-2006. The data showed an overall pattern of
accelerated glacier flow and terminus retreat between 2000 and
2006, although there were some glacier surges and slowdowns.
Because the data were acquired at different times of year
September-January for the 2000-2001 measurements, and
December-April for the 2005-2006 measurementsseasonal
differences may have played a part in the changes observed.
InSAR observations from 1992 to 2006 mapped the ice flow for
most of the Antarctic coastline, and detected different patterns of
ice flux into the ocean in East and West Antarctica. In East
Antarctica, small glacier losses led to a near-zero loss of 4 61
gigatons per year. In West Antarctica, more widespread glacier
losses increased ice sheet loss by 59 percent over a decade. In
2006, the estimated loss was 132 60 gigatons. Along the
Antarctic Peninsula, losses increased by 140 percent, to 60 46
gigatons in 2006.
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Rignot and colleagues published a high-resolution digital mosaic
of Antarctic ice flow speed in 2011 (Rignot et al. 2011). Based in
InSAR measurements acquired between 2007 and 2009 the
mosaic was compiled from 900 satellite tracks and more than
3,000 radar data orbits. The map of ice flow speed revealed a
complex pattern where fast glacier flow near the coast extended
well inland in narrow tributary bands. The next year, Rignot and
Mouginot published another comprehensive, high-resolution map
of Greenland based in radar interferometry data from 2008 and
2009 showing that Greenland's 100 fastest glaciers drain 66
percent of the ice sheet area, and marine-terminating glaciers
drain 88 percent of the ice sheet area (Rignot and Mouginot
2012).
West Antarctica has three major drainage basins where glaciers
reach the ocean: the Ross Sea Embayment, the Weddell Sea
Embayment, and the Amundsen Sea Embayment. A study of ice
discharge from the Amundsen Sea Embayment used ice-velocity
measurements derived from Landsat and radar interferometry,
and previously documented ice thickness to estimate the total
discharge from 1973 to 2013. The study found that ice discharge
increased by 77 percent since 1973, half of that occurring from
2003 to 2009 (Mouginot et al. 2014).
E. ELEVATION CHANGE OR GEODETIC
METHOD
Satellite radar altimetry, in which timing of a radar or laser beam
return back to a satellite is used as a measure of surface
elevation, enabled researchers to assess ice mass by examining
elevation change over time.
From 1997 to 2003, volumetric methods showed that average
loss of ice in Greenland was 80 12 cubic kilometers per year.
This is compared to roughly 60 cubic kilometers per year for
1993 through 1994. About half the increased ice loss was from
higher summer melt. The rest of the loss resulted from the
velocities of some glaciers outstripping those needed to balance
upstream snow accumulation (Krabill et al. 2004). Later research
showed Antarctica and Greenland have both lost overall mass at
about 120 gigatons of ice per year. The suspected triggers for
accelerated ice discharge on both continents include surface
warning and melt runoff, ocean warming, and circulation
changes. Over the 21st century, the team predicted, ice loss
would counteract snowfall gains predicted by some climate
models (Shepherd and Wingham 2007). Recently an improved
radar altimetry study confirms and extends earlier measurements
(Flament and Rmy 2012).
Laser altimetry from ICESat has now supplemented radar
altimetry measurements for more detailed volumetric-based
studies. In 2009, using ICESat, measurements of both Greenland
and Antarctica found that dynamic thinning (ice loss resulting
from accelerated glacier flow) now reached all latitudes in
Greenland, and had intensified at key areas of Antarctica's
grounding line. The study concluded that dynamic thinning lasts
for decades after an ice shelf collapse, a situation that occurred
several times in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Moreover, the
thinning reached far inland. In other regions, warm sub-surface
ocean water was shown to be responsible for thinning glaciers as
they went afloat, resulting in rapid acceleration of a broad area of
the glacier (Pritchard et al. 2009). ICESat data indicated that
basal melting was also thinning floating ice shelves, reducing
their ability to buttress the glaciers feeding them. Because
Antarctica drains more than 80 percent of its ice sheet through
floating ice shelves, accelerated glacier flow has the potential to
affect ice sheet mass balance dramatically and raise sea level
(Pritchard et al. 2012).
Figure 5: These images show rates of change in Greenland and
Antarctica from 2003 to 2007. Dark blue indicates an increase of 0.5
meters per year, and dark red indicates a decrease of 1.5 meters per
year. Image from Pritchard et al. 2009.
One augmentation of the altimetry method is to use satellite
stereo images with satellite laser or airborne laser altimetry to
map a complex region. This resolves large changes in outlet
glaciers residing in narrow fjords, and the smaller changes in the
interior ice sheet that drains into the outlet areas (Howat et al.
2007, Shuman et al. 2011, Berthier et al. 2012, Scambos et al.
2014).
The European Space Agency's CryoSat-2 mission has enhanced
Antarctic ice sheet monitoring by including areas closer to the
poles than earlier satellites, and by acquiring better data in
moderately sloping areas, including ice sheet margins where
most of the ice loss occurs. CryoSat-2 observations taken
between November 2010 and September 2013 indicate annual ice
sheet mass losses of 134 27 gigatons in West Antarctica, 3 36
gigatons in East Antarctica, and 23 18 gigatons on the
Antarctic Peninsula. The Amundsen Sea showed the largest
signal of ice loss (McMillan et al. 2014).
F. GRAVITY CHANGES
NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
has provided glaciologists with a new tool to study mass balance
on both Greenland and Antarctica. GRACE measures changes in
the strength of the gravitational force over the surface of the
Earth, including changes driven by the accumulation or loss of
ice.
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Between April 2002 and April 2006, GRACE data uncovered ice
mass loss in Greenland of 248 36 cubic kilometers per year, an
amount equivalent to a global sea rise of 0.5 0.1 millimeters
per year. The ice mass loss rate increased by 250 percent
between April 2002 to April 2004 and May 2004 to April 2006.
The increase was due almost completely to increased ice loss
rates in southern Greenland (Velicogna and Wahr 2006a).
Between 2003 and 2005, the Greenland Ice Sheet lost 101 16
gigatons per year, with a gain of 54 gigatons per year above
2,000, meters and a loss of 155 gigatons per year at lower
elevations. The lower elevations showed a large seasonal cycle:
mass losses during summer melting, and mass gains from autumn
through spring. The ice mass loss observed in this research was a
change from the trend of losing 113 17 gigatons per year
during the 1990s, but was smaller than some other recent
estimates (Luthcke et al. 2006).

In 2010, a study using GRACE and Global Positioning System

(GPS) measurements from three long-term sites on bedrock near
the ice sheet found that the ice loss already documented over
southern Greenland was spreading along the northwestern coast.
The acceleration of loss likely started in late 2005. GRACE data
gave a direct measure of mass loss averaged over scales of a few
hundred kilometers, and the GPS data observed crustal uplift Figure 6: These graphs show estimated mass change rates for four ice
sheets (Greenland, East Antarctica, West Antarctica, and the Antarctic
resulting from ice mass loss. Uplift observed by both sources
Peninsula) between 1992 and 2012. Image from Shepherd et al. 2012.
showed rapid ice acceleration in southeast Greenland in late
2003, and a modest deceleration in 2006 (Khan et al. 2010).
H. SURFACE MELT AND OCEAN IMPACT
In the Southern Hemisphere, GRACE measurements indicated a
significant ice loss in the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 2002 to 2005. Surface melt on an ice sheet not only directly reduces the ice
Ice sheet mass decreased at 152 80 cubic kilometers of ice per sheet mass but also can accelerate ice flow and even leads to
year, equal to 0.4 0.2 millimeters of sea level rise per year. further melting. Surface meltwater can penetrate through cracks
Most of the mass loss came from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the surface, and force them open, allowing large amounts of
(Velicogna and Wahr 2006b). water to drain to the bed and spread out across the base of the ice
sheet, lubricating it (Zwally et al. 2002). This effect led to initial
G. MERGING METHODS concern about rapid acceleration resulting directly from warmer
air over the ice sheet.
A 2012 study (Shepherd et al. 2012) combined satellite altimetry,
Recent studies have found, however, that there is a limit to the
interferometry, and gravimetry data from the same regions, time
effect of surface meltwater penetration. The relative speedup of
spans, and models to examine ice sheet balance. The study found
outlet glaciers is small in most years, less than 15 percent
reasonable agreement between the different satellite methods,
(Joughin et al. 2008). Satellite observations of southwestern
and arrived at the following best estimates of mass balance
Greenland in the 1990s documented ice flow development,
changes per year for 1992 through 2011: Greenland: lost 142
showing how it changed in years of differing melt rates. In the
49 gigatons; East Antarctica: gained 14 43 gigatons; West
first half of the summer, the flow rates were similar in all years,
Antarctica: lost 65 26 gigatons; Antarctic Peninsula: lost 20
but flow rates differed in the second half. Surprisingly, the flow
14 gigatons. The study also found that, since 1992, polar ice
rate was 62 16 percent, lower in warmer years, and the period
sheets contributed to sea level rise by an average of 0.59 0.20
of fast ice flow lasted only a third as long. The data suggested
millimetres per yeara total of 11 millimetres since 1992. (A
that, like mountain glaciers, melt-induced glacier acceleration
2014 study by McMillan et al. examining CryoSat-2 data more
actually stops in years of intense melting once subglacial water
than doubled the estimated rate of Antarctic ice sheet
erodes through the sediments and creates channels for water flow
contribution to sea level. Shepherd et al. estimated the annual
(Sundal et al. 2011).
contribution rate at 0.19 0.15 millimetres over a 20-year
period; McMillan et al. estimated the rate at 0.45 0.14
In February and March of 2002, the Larsen B Ice Shelf on the
millimetres per year between 2010 and 2013).
Antarctic Peninsula underwent rapid disintegration (Scambos et
al. 2003). Warm summertime temperatures led to the formation
of melt ponds on the ice surface. Some of this meltwater
infiltrated cracks in the ice, slicing through the shelf. The
increased amount of fracturing, and possibly changes at the ice
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shelf margins (loss of connection with the coastline) and wave
action (flexing the shelf a slight amount), led to the break-up of
the shelf. Similar events have occurred before (Larsen A Ice
Shelf in 1995, Larsen Inlet Ice Shelf in 1986 or 1987) and since
(northwestern Wilkins Ice Shelf in 2008), but so far these events
are limited to the Antarctic Peninsula. The Peninsula is the
fastest-warming part of the continent.
Ice shelves generally act like brakes on the glaciers upstream, but
once an ice shelf disintegrates, the glaciers can accelerate. In the
year and a half following the 2002 Larsen B disintegration, the
glaciers feeding the Larsen Ice Shelf accelerated substantially
some of them moving several times their previous speed
(Scambos et al. 2004, Rignot et al. 2004). Glacier flow speeds
subsequently dropped, but remained quite high compared to what
they had been prior to the ice shelf breakup. While the Larsen B
glacier system is of only moderate size (about 10 gigatons per
year) the process is an example of what might occur on a larger
scale. In this region, ocean effects are thought to be minor,
because little warm ocean water reaches the Larsen ice front.
Glaciers drain the central West Antarctic Ice Sheet. A study
using Earth Remote Sensing satellite radar interferometry
(EERS-1 and -2) observations from 1992 through 2011 finds "a
continuous and rapid retreat of the grounding lines of Pine
Island, Thwaites, Haynes, Smith, and Kohler" Glaciers, and the
authors conclude that "this sector of West Antarctica is
undergoing a marine ice sheet instability that will significantly
contribute to sea level rise in decades to centuries to come"
(Rignot et al. 2014). Bedrock mapping combined with a
numerical model shows that early-stage ice sheet collapse is
potentially underway in the Thwaites Glacier Basin, largely
driven by subshelf melt. The model forecasts that rapid collapse
could occur within 200 to 900 years (Joughin et al. 2014).

Similar patterns of ice calving and retreat leading to rapid glacier

acceleration have also been observed in Greenland. In southeast
Greenland for example, two large glaciers named Helheim and
Kangerdlugssuaq lost parts of their floating ice tongues in 2003,
and underwent a rapid acceleration to approximately three times
their earlier speed. (Howat et al. 2007). These glaciers have
gradually slowed in the following years, but calving and mass
loss from other glaciers on the southeastern Greenland coast and
the western coast continues.
The impacts of ice shelf collapse and ensuing glacier acceleration
are substantial, but in general, the effects of ocean melt are
proving to be far more important in controlling ice sheet mass
balance. Warm ocean water plays a significant role in melting
glacial ice from below, and a better mapping of Antarcticas and
Greenlands landforms beneath the ice suggests that ocean
melting of the glacier fronts may play a more significant role
than previously thought as the ice sheets retreat (under a global
warming scenario).
When a glacier fills a coastal valley, the elevation of the valley
floor relative to sea level is significant. As a deep-keeled glacier
retreats, seawater extends inland into the emerging fjord, and can
continue to melt the remaining ice at the retreating glacier front.
Where the valley floor rises above sea level, seawater cannot
reach much of the remaining ice, and the pace of ice loss may
slow (since only surface melt processes are in play at that point).
A study of Greenland topography has found widespread, deeply
incised glacial valleys with elevations well below sea level
extending much farther inland than previously thought
(Morlighem et al. 2014). In Antarctica, a new compilation called
Bedmap2, produced by the British Antarctic Survey, merges
multiple data sources to map the seafloor and sub-glacial bedrock
elevation.
Figure 7: Pine Island Glacier has a 30-kilometer-wide grounding line
fed by nine glaciers. Thwaites Glacier has a 120-kilometer-long
grounding line. To the west, a 60-kilometer-wide fast-moving portion of
the Thwaites Glacier forms an ice tongue. To the east, a slower-moving
portion of the glacier flows into an ice shelf buttressed by ice rumples.
Bedrock mapping suggests that this buttressing wall is more easily
breached than previously thought. These maps show flow-speed changes
in Pine Island (a) and Thwaites (b) Glaciers. Red indicates greater
increases in flow speed. The green lines indicate the position of the flow-
speed contours for the years 2006-2013. Image courtesy (Mouginot et
al. 2014)
The Thwaites Glacier "drains the so-called weak underbelly of
the West Antarctic Ice Sheet" (Alley et al. 2015) and this glacier
was identified in 1981 as the most likely conduit for collapse of
the ice sheet. Multiple studies (Alley et al. 2015, Pollard et al.
2015, Feldmann and Levermann 2015) highlighted the
vulnerability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to collapse,
indicated that the collapse could happen in a matter of decades
once it began, and suggested that the threshold or trigger point
for the collapse might have already been passed, though rapid
changes might not occur for centuries.

Multiple studies of Antarctica indicate growing ice sheet

instability, especially in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, where
the Thwaites, Pine Island, Smith, Kohler, Pope, and Haynes
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II. INSAR MONITORING OF GROUND
DEFORMATION DUE TO CO2 INJECTION AT
AN ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY SITE,
WEST TEXAS
Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements
have been used to measure ground deformation associated with
fluid injection/production at an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) field
in Scurry County, West Texas. 100 million tons (Mt) of
supercritical CO2 have been sequestered here since 1972, of which
about half has been sequestered since 2004. InSAR data show
surface uplift up to 10 cm in the field between January 2007 and
March 2011. We evaluated data concerning injection and
production of CO2, water, oil and hydrocarbon gas from 2004 to
2011 to investigate causes of the observed uplift. An analytical
model is used to calculate reservoir pressure change and surface
displacement. Our simulations show up to 10 MPa pressure
buildup in the reservoir over four years of net injection and
production. Surface displacement predictions agree well with the
InSAR observations. Water injection alone cannot explain the
20072011 surface uplift because the net injected water (1 Mt)
is negligible compared to the net injected CO2 (24 Mt). The
predicted total pressure buildup (up to 10 MPa) consists of net CO2
injection (up to 12 MPa), net water injection (up to 2 MPa), and
oil and gas production (up to 0.4 MPa). Hence, observed ground
uplift was mainly caused by CO2 injection.
A. INTRODUCTION
An important aspect of large-scale carbon capture, utilization and
storage (CCUS) is the ability to assess the fate of injected CO2 and
test for leakage. These so-called monitoring, verification and
accounting (MVA) activities typically involve active seismic
surveys and down-hole techniques for precise tracking of CO2
plume migration, both of which can be expensive. Since the
economic viability of CCUS is impacted by the cost of MVA
activities, development of lower cost approaches is desirable.
Injection of CO2 or other fluid into a reservoir at depth increases
fluid pressure in the reservoir, causing deformation in the
overlying strata and inducing surface deformation. If the pressure
change is large enough, the surface deformation may be
measurable. In principle, the measured surface deformation can be
inverted to estimate pressure changes at depth and track the CO2
plume.
Over long periods (decades or centuries), chemical reactions that
result in formation of mineral phases will cause pressure and
volume reduction and subsidence, and could not be distinguished
from migration or leakage with this technique alone. On the other
hand, surface deformation can be measured at relatively low cost,
the interpretation is relatively straightforward, and the technique
gives useful information in the critical few years immediately
following injection.
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) refers to techniques for increasing
the amount of oil extracted at depleted or high viscosity oil fields.
CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) has been used by the oil
and gas industry for over 40 years (Orr and Taber, 1984), but only
recently has its potential as a promising method of carbon
sequestration been realized and investigated (Bryant, 2007).
Considering the potential of CO2-EOR for implementation of
large-scale carbon emission reduction (Metz et al., 2005), it is
important to test surface deformation MVA techniques in a CO2-
EOR field.
Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique has
been successfully used to monitor surface deformation associated
with CO2 injection at the In Salah field in Algeria (Mathieson et
al., 2009; Morris et al., 2011; Shi et al., 2012 ; Verdon et al.,
2013). In this paper, we use InSAR to study surface deformation
associated with a CO2-EOR project in West Texas. We use an
analytical model and historical injection and production data to
estimate CO2 plume extent and reservoir pressure change
constrained by surface deformation observations. The study
reveals that ground uplift between January 2007 and March 2011
is mainly caused by CO2 injection. The maximum pressure change
due to net injection and production of CO2, water, oil and
hydrocarbon gas is up to 10 MPa.
B. STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION
The CO2-EOR field is located in Scurry County, West Texas (Fig.
1). The reservoir is the southeastern segment of the Horseshoe
Atoll play within the Midland basin, one of the largest subsurface
limestone reef mounds in the world (Galloway et al., 1983). It is a
chain of oil fields with the major one being the Kelly-Snyder field.
The producing zones are Pennsylvanian-aged Cisco and Canyon
formations, and are comparable to a large class of potential brine
storage reservoirs. Average depth of the producing zones is 2000
m (Vest, 1970 ; Raines et al., 2001) with average reservoir
pressures of 16 MPa and a temperature of 41.5 C (Raines, 2005).
The rock formation porosity (022.5%) and permeability (0.1
1760 md) are described in Raines (2005). The reported average
porosity and permeability are 9.8% and 19 mD, respectively.
Overlying the producing zone is the Permian-aged Wolfcamp
formation, providing a very low permeability seal above the Cisco
and Canyon Groups. The physical properties of the field make it a
good candidate for CO2-EOR as well as CO2 sequestration.
8
Figure 8: (a) Total LOS displacement from from January 08, 2007 to
March 06, 2011. (b) A SAR intensity image of the study area. Red star
represents location of the town of Snyder, Texas. Light grey lines are
county boundaries and county names are labeled. Red l ines are the
boundaries of our study area, Scurry County. Blue line is the
approximate boundary of the oil field in the study area. Black dashed
line represents location of a profile for surface displacement modeling
in the following sections.
Three production phases occurred in the oil field after it was
discovered in 1948 (Fig. 2). The primary recovery phase was
19481951. During this phase, 5% of original oil in place (2.73
billion barrels) was produced by the solution gas driven
mechanism, resulting in decline of the original reservoir pressure
by 50%, from 21.5 MPa to 11.4 MPa (Dicharry et al., 1973 ;
Brummett et al., 1976). The secondary recovery phase began in
1954. During this phase, water-flooding technology was used to
produce oil and maintain reservoir pressure. 133 MCM (Million
Cubic Meters) of water was injected into the reservoir, and
reservoir pressure increased from 11.4 MPa to 16.2 MPa.
However, after 17 years of water Injection, over 40% of original
oil in place was still left in the reservoir.
Figure 9: Injection and production history of the study site. Phase I is
the primary recovery phase. Phase II is the secondary recovery phase.
Phase III is the tertiary/enhanced oil recovery phases. Volumes of fluid
injection and production are reported at 16 MPa, 41.5 C (pressure and
temperature at reservoir depth). HC is hydrocarbon.
The tertiary/enhanced oil recovery phase started in 1972
(Crameik and Plassey, 1972). During this phase, CO2 was
injected continuously into the reservoir to increase oil
production. From 1972 to 2003, the CO2 monthly injection rate
was quite stable, with a mean value of 0.28 MCM per month.
The CO2 injection rate has increased since 2004. The mean value
of the CO2 monthly injection rate in 20042011 was about six
times higher compared to 19722003. Although water was also
injected into the unit during the third phase, the sequestered
water was small compared to the sequestered CO2 since injected
and produced volumes of water are approximately equal (Fig. 2).
Raines (2005) suggested that approximately 55 Mt (70 MCM) of
CO2 was sequestered in the reservoir from 1972 to 2005 based
on a simple mass-balance model. Our study updates the injection
and production data sets to 2011, and suggests that about 100 Mt
(128 MCM) of CO2 were sequestered in the reservoir from 1972
to 2011, with about 50% accumulated from 2004 to 2011. Note
that in this paper, all the volume numbers are reported at the
reservoir depth with pressure equal to 16 MPa and temperature
equal to 41.5 C.
C. OBSERVED GROUND DEFORMATION
Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) image data from the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are used to
monitor surface displacement above the CO2-EOR field. The
satellite repeat cycle is 46 days. Thirteen images were acquired
from January 08, 2007 to March 06, 2011 on ascending path 184,
frame 640, from which 53 interferograms were generated. The
small Baseline Subset technique (Berardino et al., 2002) is
applied to generate displacement time series. By using L-band
SAR data, the interferometric phase tends to remain coherent
even in vegetated areas. To reduce errors caused by phase
unwrapping, we use the temporal coherence method (Pepe and
Lanari, 2006) to mask out pixels with unwrapping error. SRTM
version 4 (Reuter et al., 2007) 3 arc second DEM data were
interpolated to 1 arc second (30 m) resolution to remove
topographic effects.
A total displacement of up to 10 cm LOS (line of sight) is
detected (Fig. 1a). Note that part of the oil field is not covered by
our interferograms. No active injection or production occurred in
this section during the InSAR observation period (discussed in
Section 4.3, Fig. 5). Thus, we expect only moderate displacement
here associated with nearby injection and production activity.
Figure 10: Map of study area, showing total LOS displacement from
January 08, 2007 to March. 06, 2011, (a) wells injecting CO2 (green
circle) and water (blue circle), and (b) well producing CO2, water, Oil
and HC gas (red triangle).
9
III. CONCLUSIONS
This dissertation presents three studies that use satellite geodesy
to study environmental and global change. The GPS data are
useful to study spatial and temporal changes in mass loss of the ice
sheet. Anomalously large uplift is observed at most GPS sites in
2010, indicating significant ice mass loss in 2010. Comparison
between GPS data and climatic data suggests that the anomalous
melting in 2010 is caused by a combination of warm air and warm
sub-surface ocean water. The Irminger Current, a warm subsurface
current that constitutes part of the sub-polar gyre, plays an
important role in "shaping" the spatial pattern of coastal melting;
the amount of ice mass loss decreases along the pathway of the
Irminger Current (from southeastern and southern and then
southwestern Greenland). The maximum northern extent of its
influence in 2010 was about 69 degrees north. Indicating that
warm IW is sufficiently diluted with colder water north of this
latitude that it has negligible influence on melting of marine-
terminating outlet glaciers north of this point, during this time
period. Ocean forcing is the dominant factor in coastal melting
south of this point for both eastern and western Greenland. On the
other hand, a few stations near land terminating glaciers also show
large uplift, and by implication large mass losses in 2010. Thus, a
combination of warm water and warm air contributed to the
anomalously large ice mass loss in Greenland in 2010. Poor
correlation between uplift and air temperature or ocean
temperature at northwestern sites suggests that longer-term ice
dynamics may be a significant controlling factor for ice mass
change in northwestern Greenland.
The evaluated injection and production data for CO2, water, oil
and hydrocarbon gas at individual wells in a CO2-EOR field
between 2004 and 2011. Approximately 50 Mt of CO2 were
sequestered between 2004 and 2011, equal to the total sequestered
CO2 between 1972 and 2003. InSAR data observe up to 10 cm line
of sight displacement between January 2007 and March 2011 in
this field. Water injection alone cannot explain surface uplift
between January 2007 and March 2011 because net injected water
(1 Mt) is negligible during this period. However, significant
amounts of CO2 (24 Mt) were injected into the reservoir,
contributing to observed surface uplift. An analytical simulation
relating reservoir pressure and surface displacement using realistic
injection and production data from individual wells predicts up to
10 MPa pressure buildup due to net fluid injection and production
in 2007-2011, using assumed average values of porosity and
permeability. With better information on the mechanical
properties of the reservoir, InSAR data could directly estimate
reservoir pressure changes with time.
InSAR monitoring of surface deformation is a promising approach
to estimate pressure changes in deep reservoirs subject to fluid
injection. Up to 10 cm surface uplift was observed between
January 2007 and March 2011 at a CO2-EOR field in Scurry
County, West Texas. Monthly injection and production data and
an analytical model are utilized to estimate the pressure change in
the reservoir and to investigate causes of the observed uplift. Net
CO2 injection results in up to 12 MPa pressure build up in the
reservoir, and was major contributor to the observed surface uplift.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This dissertation would not have been possible without the help
of so many individuals. First and foremost, I cannot thank my
instructor, Dr. B. Nagarajan enough for guiding and supporting
me. Im grateful to have such an inspiring and encouraging advisor
and I truly admire his enthusiasm for sciences. Also, I would like
to extend my sincere esteems to all TAs (Rupesh Sir and Vandana
Maam) of the course for their timely support.
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[1] Qian Yanga, Wenliang Zhaob, Timothy H. Dixona, Falk
Amelungb, Weon Shik Hanc, Peng Lib,
International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control,
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750583
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[2] SOTC: Ice Sheets, National Snow and Ice Data Center
Cited 9 November 2015,
https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/sotc/ice_sheets.html
[3] Seeber, Gnter ,1941, Satellite geodesy :
foundations,methods, and applications / Gnter Seeber.
2nd completely rev. and extended edition p. cm. Includes
bibliographical references and index. ISBN 3-11-017549-5
(alk. paper)1. Satellite geodesy. I. Title. QB343 .S4313 2003