Global Land Ice Assessment for Climate Impacts and Enhanced Reconstruction

Global glacier databases form the initial conditions for glacier models used to predict future ice loss. However, many are outdated, making them unfit to produce accurate projections of glacier change that are essential for global communities to adapt to ice loss and the management of their water resources. The widely used Randolph Glacier Inventory is based on data from around the year 2000, but many glaciers have since retreated beyond its recorded boundaries. To address this gap, I will produce new global and multitemporal maps of glacier health from 1985 to 2025 using Landsat satellite imagery through large-scale cloud-based geoprocessing approaches. By applying advanced image-processing techniques, I will extract glacier data for approximately 274,531 land-terminating glaciers and analyze at both the global and regional scale. Beyond tracking overall glacier mass loss, this dataset will allow for the analysis of spatial and temporal trends, considering factors like glacier shape and terrain. These satellite-derived measurements will be compared withsimulations from the Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) to parametrize these glacier sensitivities into models that will aid in the prediction of future glacier change. This approach will also help fill in missing data for years without direct observations, create a more continuous record of glacier mass changes, and improve modeled projections. The goal is to provide a more complete picture of global glacier decline, improve climate projections, and support communities that rely on glacier-fed water resources.