Satellite radar observation feasibility for large infrastructure public works

A very large infrastructural work is being undertaken in Delft. A tunnel is going to be constructed to replace the current rail viaduct. As in any large infrastructural work, the monitoring of the land deformations during the period of the tunnel’s construction is highly essential. In this project, one study was performed to analyse the feasibility of PSInSAR as an independent technique for monitoring of land subsidence. The driving mechanisms for deformation were studied to find out the relations among them. Soil geophysics, hydrology, infrastructures and thermal expansion were studied in relation with deformation. Besides these, the traditional deformation monitoring methods were also studied, since they are the competitors of this technique. LiDAR, photogrammetry, tachymetry, levelling and GPS were considered in this study for the comparison with radar. The major attention has been given in this study to assessment of the geolocalisation quality of PSInSAR observations. We have found that the accuracy and point density of PSInSAR is sufficient for deformation monitoring. While its repeat interval might not be able to detect quick failure mechanisms, other techniques have proven to be excellent complements for this deficiency. Radar measurements are also good for validation in other fields, showing that they correlate well with thermal expansion and soil mechanics theory. Further work should be directed to improving geolocalisation and deformation models