A Rapid GeoSAM-Based Workflow for Multi-Temporal Glacier Delineation: Case Study from Svalbard
This provides a fast and practical alternative for multi-temporal glacier mapping and ice-loss assessment, but it is incremental as it builds on existing methods with user inspection still required.
The authors tackled the problem of scaling glacier boundary delineation across long time series by developing a semi-automatic workflow using GeoSAM and Sentinel-2 imagery, which produced spatially coherent and temporally consistent outlines for major glaciers in Svalbard, though errors persisted for small features.
Consistent glacier boundary delineation is essential for monitoring glacier change, yet many existing approaches are difficult to scale across long time series and heterogeneous environments. In this report, we present a GeoSAM-based, semi-automatic workflow for rapid glacier delineation from Sentinel-2 surface reflectance imagery. The method combines late-summer image compositing, spectral-index-based identification of candidate ice areas, prompt-guided segmentation using GeoSAM, and physically based post-processing to derive annual glacier outlines. The workflow is demonstrated in the Ny-Alesund and Kongsfjorden region of western Svalbard across multiple years of the Sentinel-2 era. Results show that the approach produces spatially coherent and temporally consistent outlines for major glacier bodies, while most errors are associated with small features affected by water bodies, terrain shadows, or high surface variability. The reliance on derived RGB imagery makes the method flexible and transferable to other optical datasets, with improved performance expected at higher spatial resolution. Although user inspection remains necessary to filter incorrect polygons and adjust thresholds for local conditions, the workflow provides a fast and practical alternative for multi-temporal glacier mapping and ice-loss assessment.