UAV-based Ultra High-Resolution Geodetic Mass Change Estimations near Schirmacher Oasis in East Antarctica: Insights from Sub-seasonal, Seasonal and Annual Timescales

Abstract. This study presents an Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based framework to quantify surface elevation changes and subsequently geodetic mass change at high spatial and temporal resolution. The approach was demonstrated over a ~ 6.7 km² area near the Schirmacher Oasis, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. High-resolution imagery derived from UAV allowed application of different pixel-wise snow and ice densities for precise geodetic mass change calculations. Sub-seasonal mass change values showed a gain of 0.539 cm w.e. during 17 November–3 December 2023 and a loss of –0.144 cm w.e. during 3–17 December 2023, highlighting the influence of short-term meteorological drivers such as temperature fluctuations, snowfall, and snow drift leading to snow redistribution over the ice surface. Over the seasonal period (17 November–17 December 2023), the geodetic mass change was found to be –0.141 cm w.e., while annual estimates exhibited a gain of +2.072 cm w.e. for the surveyed area, and +0.751 cm w.e. for a larger coverage (3 December 2023–21 November 2024. We validated the elevation change with in-situ stake measurements, which showed very good alignment. We also discuss key operational challenges such as flying in extreme weather conditions, battery limitations, and geolocation issues- and offer practical recommendations to improve the reliability and scalability of UAV-based monitoring in polar regions. With the suggested recommendations, the demonstrated framework can be applied to other polar sites to enhance understanding of ice sheet surface processes, to develop sites for calibration and validation of satellite-derived geodetic mass change products.