Back to Search Start Over

Practical Application of Satellite-Based SAR Interferometry for the Detection of Landslide Activity

Authors :
Şule Gürboğa
Ivana Hlavacova
Milan Lazecký
Fatma Canaslan Çomut
Source :
Procedia Earth and Planetary Science. 15:613-618
Publication Year :
2015
Publisher :
Elsevier BV, 2015.

Abstract

After two decades of SAR satellite operation, their data, processed by interferometric techniques (InSAR), allows for a sensitive detection of terrain movements. Various projects have risen towards the detection of landslide activity and thus possibility of early warning system based on SAR data. The ability of InSAR techniques to detect a slope stability is limited and depends on slope orientation, movement rate, vegetation cover and temporal and spatial image resolution. This paper presents common issues found in past projects of the team of authors observing landslides using available satellite SAR data processed by various InSAR techniques. It is demonstrated that in some cases the basic differential InSAR combining only two images provides more valuable information compared to advance multi-temporal InSAR techniques. The paper aims at providing guidelines for maximal successful detection of landslide activity and to introduce pros and cons of the InSAR method, which often discussed in geology and geophysics circles. We prove the potential of techniques using satellite-based InSAR to identify creeping movement of structures built at moving slopes and the limited possibility to detect movements at moderately vegetated slopes by using especially the L-band or a combination of winter-season SAR and other images within very short temporal difference. It is possible to overcome misinterpretation of results by proper understanding of InSAR source phase component at slopes, including phase distortions due to SAR geometry, vegetation movement (vegetated mass movement) and atmospheric pressure changes correlated with height differences.

Details

ISSN :
18785220
Volume :
15
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Procedia Earth and Planetary Science
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....0be23ae8a9c51003c57c11a6259742dc
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeps.2015.08.113