Planet4Stereo: A Photogrammetric Open-Source Pipeline for Generating Digital Elevation Models for Glacier Change Monitoring Using Low-Cost PlanetScope Satellite Data

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Monitoring volumetric glacier change requires cost-effective and accessible methods to generate multi-temporal digital elevation models (DEMs). We present Planet4Stereo, an open-source photogrammetry pipeline developed to generate DEMs from low-cost PlanetScope images, exploiting the high temporal repetition rate of the constellation for stereo reconstruction. Our approach enables multi-temporal 3D change detection using the freely available NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP), making the pipeline particularly valuable for geoscientists. We applied Planet4Stereo in two case studies: the Shisper glacier (Karakoram, Pakistan) for surge investigation and the Bøverbrean glacier (Smørstabb Massif, Norway) for change detection. The results from Shisper are in good agreement with previous studies using the same images but proprietary methods. The accuracy of the DEM of Bøverbrean was evaluated using high-precision LiDAR data, revealing varying deviations across terrain types, with higher errors in steep shadowed areas. Additionally, the change detection analysis confirmed the expected glacier retreat. Our results show that Planet4Stereo produces DEMs with comparable accuracy to commercial software and is freely accessible and easy to use. As both ASP and the PlanetScope satellites evolve, future work could refine the pipeline’s stereo-matching capabilities and evaluate its performance with next-generation satellite data.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number1435
Number of pages27
JournalRemote sensing
Volume17
Issue number8
Publication statusPublished - 2 Apr 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0009-0009-6596-8577/work/183165393
unpaywall 10.3390/rs17081435
Mendeley 36bc1be5-c73d-323e-a152-46ce1464de13
Scopus 105003714727

Keywords

Keywords

  • glacier surge, multi-temporal analysis, digital elevation model (DEM), glacier monitoring, stereo reconstruction, PlanetScope, NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP), 3D change detection, satellite remote sensing