Digital Processing Techniques for PeruSat-1 Satellite Images for Estimation of the Surface Area of a Glacier

This paper provides the estimation of the surface area of the Incachiriasca glacier located in the Historic Sanctuary of Machupicchu in Peru using digital processing techniques on satellite images obtained by the Peruvian satellite PeruSAT-1 and information from previous studies of the same area provided by the National Institute for Research on Glaciers and Mountain Ecosystems (INAIGEM) and National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP). The development of this paper comprehends an alternative methodology in which, at first, analysis of traditional glacier monitoring techniques were used followed by spatial remote sensing with digital image processing and machine learning techniques. The estimated a surface area of the Incachiriasca glacier is 162,419.93 square meters and we can specify based on the analysis of an area of 54,457.65 square meters, which does not present distortions, that the glacier retreat is estimated is 1,940.83 square meters of retreat.