Advanced interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series analysis using interferograms of multiple-orbit tracks: A case study on Miyake-jima

Landslide is the second most frequent geological disaster after earthquake, which causes a large number of casualties and economic losses every year. China frequently experiences devastating landslides in mountainous areas. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology has great potential for detecting potentially unstable landslides across wide areas and can monitor surface displacement of a single landslide. However traditional time series InSAR technology such as persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) and small-baseline subset (SBAS) cannot identify enough points in mountainous areas because of dense vegetation and steep terrain. In order to improve the accuracy of landslide hazard detection and the reliability of landslide deformation monitoring in areas lacking high coherence stability point targets, this study proposes an adaptive distributed scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (ADS-InSAR) method based on the spatiotemporal coherence of the distributed scatterer (DS), which automatically adjusts its detection threshold to improve the spatial distribution density and reliability of DS detection in the landslide area. After time series network modeling and deformation calculation of the ADS target, the displacement deformation of the landslide area can be accurately extracted. Shuibuya Town in Enshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China, was used as a case study, along with 18 Sentinal-1A images acquired from March 2016 to April 2017. The ADS-InSAR method was used to obtain regional deformation data. The deformation time series was combined with hydrometeorological and related data to analyze landslide deformation. The results show that the ADS-InSAR method can effectively improve the density of DS distribution, successfully detect existing ancient landslide groups and determine multiple potential landslide areas, enabling early warning for landslide hazards. This study verifies the reliability and accuracy of ADS-InSAR for landslide disaster prevention and mitigation.

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Long-range ground deformation monitoring by InSAR analysis

Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences ◽

10.5194/piahs-372-343-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 372 ◽

pp. 343-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. Rokugawa ◽

T. Nakamura

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Time Series Analysis ◽

Synthetic Aperture Radar ◽

Surface Deformation ◽

Ground Deformation ◽

Synthetic Aperture ◽

Alos Palsar ◽

Envisat Asar ◽

Series Analysis ◽

Kanto District

Abstract. InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) analysis is an effective technique to map 3-dimensional surface deformation with high spatial resolution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capability of InSAR analysis when applied to ground monitoring of an environmental disaster. We performed a time series InSAR analysis using ENVISAT/ASAR and ALOS/PALSAR data and commercial software to investigate subsidence around the Kanto District of Japan. We also investigated techniques for efficient early detection of landslides in Kyushu using time series analysis that incorporated synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. ENVISAT/ASAR data acquired from 2003–2010 and ALOS/PALSAR data acquired from 2006–2011 were used to detect poorly expressed geomorphological deformation by conducting time series analyses of periodically acquired SAR data. In addition, to remove noise caused by geographical feature stripes or phase retardation, we applied median filtering, histogram extraction processing, and clarification of the displacement with a Laplacian filter. The main functions of the InSAR time series analysis are the calculation of phase differences between two images and the inversion with smoothness constraint for the estimation of deformation along the line of sight. The results enabled us to establish criteria for the selection of suitable InSAR data pairs, and provided the final error estimation of the derived surface deformation. The results of the analysis in the Kanto District suggested that localized areas of uplift and subsidence have occurred at irregular intervals in this area. Furthermore, the method offers the possibility of early warning of environmental disasters such as landslide and abrupt subsidence. Our results confirm the effectiveness of InSAR analysis for the monitoring of ground deformation over wide areas via the detection of localized subsidence and landslides.

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