Ers and Envisat Differential Sar Interferometry for subsidence monitoring

This paper reports on the potential of differential SAR interferometry to map land subsidence. After a presentation of the methodology, the focus will be on feasibility demonstration and accuracy assessment. The theoretical considerations are verified with the selected cases Ruhrgebiet, Mexico City, Bologna, and Euganean Geothermal Basin, representing fast (m/year) to slow (mm/year) deformation velocities. The accuracy of the generated deformation maps and the maturity of the required processing techniques lead to the conclusion that differential SAR interferometry has a very high potential for operational mapping of land subsidence. The high reliability of the ERS satellites, with the huge data archive starting in 1991, strongly supports this application. The planned ENVISAT ASAR has the potential to maintain good data availability into the future. This will, nevertheless, strongly depend on the sensor operation strategy

Mapping slope movements in Alpine environments using TerraSAR-X interferometric methods

Mapping slope movements in Alpine environments is an increasingly important task in the context of climate change and natural hazard management. We propose the detection, mapping and inventorying of slope movements using different interferometric methods based on TerraSAR-X satellite images. Differential SAR interferograms (DInSAR), Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI), Short-Baseline Interferometry (SBAS) and a semi-automated texture image analysis are presented and compared in order to determine their contribution for the automatic detection and mapping of slope movements of various velocity rates encountered in Alpine environments. Investigations are conducted in a study region of about 6 km × 6 km located in the Western Swiss Alps using a unique large data set of 140 DInSAR scenes computed from 51 summer TerraSAR-X (TSX) acquisitions from 2008 to 2012. We found that PSI is able to precisely detect only points moving with velocities below 3.5 cm/yr in the LOS, with a root mean squared error of about 0.58 cm/yr compared to DGPS records. SBAS employed with 11 days summer interferograms increases the range of detectable movements to rates up to 35 cm/yr in the LOS with a root mean squared error of 6.36 cm/yr, but inaccurate measurements due to phase unwrapping are already possible for velocity rates larger than 20 cm/year. With the semi-automated texture image analysis the rough estimation of the velocity rates over an outlined moving zone is accurate for rates of “cm/day”, “dm/month” and “cm/month”, but due to the decorrelation of yearly TSX interferograms this method fails for the observation of slow movements in the “cm/yr” range

Einsatz von Radarmethoden im Geomonitoring der Schweiz

Der Einsatz von Radarfernerkundungsmethoden hat sich in der Schweiz in den letzten Jahren als nützliches Werkzeug für die Detektion, die Beurteilung und die Kontrolle gravitativer Naturgefahren etabliert. In diesem Beitrag werden die Entwicklungsgeschichte und heutigen Einsatzbereiche von satelliten- und bodengestützten Radarmethoden vorgestellt

Hazard assessment of glacial lake outburst floods from Kyagar glacier, Karakoram mountains, China

Kyagar glacier is located in the Chinese Karakoram mountains. The glacier tongue entirely blocks the riverbed in the upper Shaksgam valley and impounds a glacial lake, which was the source of several violent and disastrous glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). A GLOF early warning system was implemented between 2011 and 2013. We present an integrative analysis of the hazard potential of Kyagar lake, taking into account the ice flow dynamics of Kyagar glacier as well as the recent surface mass-balance response to climate change. Comparison of two high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) for the ice dam shows surface lowering rates of >5 m a–1 between 2002 and 2011, leading to a significant reduction in the maximum potential lake volume. However, two DEMs covering the entire glacier for the period 2000–10 indicate mass gains in its central part, and flow speed measurements show an acceleration in this region. This pattern of local ice-thickness changes combined with varying ice flow velocities is typical for surge-type glaciers. The velocity of the glacier surface and of the ice dam between 2011 and 2012 are analyzed at high temporal and spatial resolution, based on feature tracking of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images

Satellite SAR interferometry for the improved assessment of the state of activity of landslides: A case study from the Cordilleras of Peru

In Peru landslides have been causing damages and casualties annually due to the high mountain relief and distinct seasonal precipitation distribution. Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometry represents one possibility for mapping surface deformation at fine spatial resolution over large areas in order to characterize aspects of terrain motion and potentially hazardous processes. We present land surface motion maps derived from satellite SAR interferometry (InSAR) for a part of the Santa River Basin between the Cordilleras Blanca and Negra around the city of Carhuaz in Peru. Using both Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) and differential SAR Interferograms (DInSAR) from ALOS-1 PALSAR-1, ENVISAT ASAR, ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 and Sentinel-1 we mapped 42 landslides extending over 17,190,141m² within three classes of activity (i.e. 0–2 cm/a, 2–10 cm/a and>10 cm/a). A geomorphological inventory of landslides was prepared from optical satellite imagery and field experience and compared to the InSAR-based slope-instability inventory. The two approaches provide slightly different information about landslide spatial and temporal activity patterns, but altogether they can be combined for the assessment of the state of activity of landslides and possibly the development of hazard maps, which are not systematically available in this region. We conclude that ALOS PALSAR (1 and 2) and Sentinel-1 data have a high potential to derive high-quality surface deformation information of landslides in many mountainous regions worldwide due to their global and frequent acquisition strategies

New insights into earthquake precursors from InSAR

We measured ground displacements before and after the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake using multitemporal InSAR techniques to identify seismic precursor signals. We estimated the ground deformation and its temporal evolution by exploiting a large dataset of SAR imagery that spans seventy-two months before and sixteen months after the mainshock. These satellite data show that up to 15 mm of subsidence occurred beginning three years before the mainshock. This deformation occurred within two Quaternary basins that are located close to the epicentral area and are filled with sediments hosting multi-layer aquifers. After the earthquake, the same basins experienced up to 12 mm of uplift over approximately nine months. Before the earthquake, the rocks at depth dilated, and fractures opened. Consequently, fluids migrated into the dilated volume, thereby lowering the groundwater table in the carbonate hydrostructures and in the hydrologically connected multi-layer aquifers within the basins. This process caused the elastic consolidation of the fine-grained sediments within the basins, resulting in the detected subsidence. After the earthquake, the fractures closed, and the deep fluids were squeezed out. The pre-seismic ground displacements were then recovered because the groundwater table rose and natural recharge of the shallow multi-layer aquifers occurred, which caused the observed uplift.Published120356T. Variazioni delle caratteristiche crostali e precursoriJCR Journa

ELBARA II, an L-Band Radiometer System for Soil Moisture Research

L-band (1–2 GHz) microwave radiometry is a remote sensing technique that can be used to monitor soil moisture, and is deployed in the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). Performing ground-based radiometer campaigns before launch, during the commissioning phase and during the operative SMOS mission is important for validating the satellite data and for the further improvement of the radiative transfer models used in the soil-moisture retrieval algorithms. To address these needs, three identical L-band radiometer systems were ordered by ESA. They rely on the proven architecture of the ETH L-Band radiometer for soil moisture research (ELBARA) with major improvements in the microwave electronics, the internal calibration sources, the data acquisition, the user interface, and the mechanics. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of the instruments and the main characteristics that are relevant for the user

The SIBERIA -II Project as seen by Envisat ASAR

ABSTRACT In the SIBERIA-II project Earth Observation (EO) data are used to derive a set of products, which are then fed into global and regional greenhouse gas accounting approaches. The overall aim of the project is to devise an integrated "EO-modelling" methodology for full carbon accounting at regional scale, and to quantify the accounting for an over 3 Mio km 2 area in Central Siberia. For the derivation of the EO products, SIBERIA-II makes use of most of current orbiting satellites and currently represents the major user of ASAR ENVISAT data. Within the project several issues ranging from data post-processing to derivation of EO-products and development of new techniques for land applications are treated. An experiment on geometric and radiometric validation of Wide Swath data showed the importance of the processor used for preparing the data to be further used in applications. The interferometric coherence from ASAR repeat-pass pairs acquired under stable winter conditions shows contrast between forests and bare soils. Alternating Polarisation data seems to be promising for forest/non-forest mapping. For wetlands, ASAR Wide Swath data is used for the operational monitoring of open water surfaces, reaching high classification accuracy. ASAR Wide Swath is also evaluated for pollution damage identification and fire scar detection. Finally, the long time series of ERS and ASAR Image Mode data allows detecting deforestation activities over almost one decade

A roadmap for high-resolution satellite soil moisture applications – confronting product characteristics with user requirements

Soil moisture observations are of broad scientific interest and practical value for a wide range of applications. The scientific community has made significant progress in estimating soil moisture from satellite-based Earth observation data, particularly in operationalizing coarse-resolution (25-50 km) soil moisture products. This review summarizes existing applications of satellite-derived soil moisture products and identifies gaps between the characteristics of currently available soil moisture products and the application requirements from various disciplines. We discuss the efforts devoted to the generation of high-resolution soil moisture products from satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data such as Sentinel-1 C-band backscatter observations and/or through downscaling of existing coarse-resolution microwave soil moisture products. Open issues and future opportunities of satellite-derived soil moisture are discussed, providing guidance for further development of operational soil moisture products and bridging the gap between the soil moisture user and supplier communities