Merging GPS and Atmospherically Corrected InSAR Data to Map 3-D Terrain Displacement Velocity

A method to derive accurate spatially dense maps of 3-D terrain displacement velocity is presented. It is based on the merging of terrain displacement velocities estimated by time series of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data acquired along ascending and descending orbits and repeated GPS measurements. The method uses selected persistent scatterers (PSs) and GPS measurements of the horizontal velocity. An important step of the proposed method is the mitigation of the impact of atmospheric phase delay in InSAR data. It is shown that accurate vertical velocities at PS locations can be retrieved if smooth horizontal velocity variations can be assumed. Furthermore, the mitigation of atmospheric effects reduces the spatial dispersion of vertical velocity estimates resulting in a more spatially regular 3-D velocity map. The proposed methodology is applied to the case study of Azores islands characterized by important tectonic phenomena.

[1]  Antonio Pepe,et al.  The 2004–2006 uplift episode at Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy): Constraints from SBAS‐DInSAR ENVISAT data and Bayesian source inference , 2008 .

[2]  Joao P. S. Catalao,et al.  InSAR time series analysis of the 9 July 1998 Azores earthquake , 2005 .

[3]  F. Catani,et al.  On the application of SAR interferometry to geomorphological studies: estimation of landform attributes and mass movements , 2005 .

[4]  Eugenio Sansosti,et al.  A simple and exact solution for the interferometric and stereo SAR geolocation problem , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[5]  Kurt L. Feigl,et al.  Space geodetic measurement of crustal deformation in central and southern California , 1993 .

[6]  S. Saatchi,et al.  InSAR monitoring of progressive land subsidence in Neyshabour, northeast Iran , 2009 .

[7]  Howard A. Zebker,et al.  Correction for interferometric synthetic aperture radar atmospheric phase artifacts using time series of zenith wet delay observations from a GPS network , 2006 .

[8]  Jan-Peter Muller,et al.  Interferometric synthetic aperture radar atmospheric correction: Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer and Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar integration , 2006 .

[9]  M. Schwabisch,et al.  A fast and efficient technique for SAR interferogram geocoding , 1998, IGARSS '98. Sensing and Managing the Environment. 1998 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing. Symposium Proceedings. (Cat. No.98CH36174).

[10]  Zuheir Altamimi,et al.  ITRF2000: A new release of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame for earth science applications , 2002 .

[11]  Sergey V. Samsonov,et al.  Analytical optimization of a DInSAR and GPS dataset for derivation of three-dimensional surface motion , 2006, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters.

[12]  James Foster,et al.  Mitigating atmospheric noise for InSAR using a high resolution weather model , 2005 .

[13]  H. Zebker,et al.  Persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar for crustal deformation analysis, with application to Volcán Alcedo, Galápagos , 2007 .

[14]  K. Feigl,et al.  Radar interferometry and its application to changes in the Earth's surface , 1998 .

[15]  Dario Tarchi,et al.  Generation of digital terrain models with a ground-based SAR system , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[16]  Joao P. S. Catalao,et al.  Deformation associated with the Faial (Capelinhos) 1957–1958 eruption: Inferences from 1937–1997 geodetic measurements , 2006 .

[17]  H. Zebker,et al.  A new method for measuring deformation on volcanoes and other natural terrains using InSAR persistent scatterers , 2004 .

[18]  J. Carstensen,et al.  Three‐dimensional surface motion maps estimated from combined interferometric synthetic aperture radar and GPS data , 2002 .

[19]  Antonio Pepe,et al.  SBAS-DInSAR Analysis of Very Extended Areas: First Results on a 60 000- $\hbox{km}^{2}$ Test Site , 2008, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters.

[20]  R. Hanssen,et al.  Radar Interferometry with Public Domain Tools , 2004 .

[21]  Bruno Crippa,et al.  Exploitation of high‐density DInSAR data points of the Umbria‐Marche (Italy) 1997 seismic sequence for fault characteristics , 2007 .

[22]  Fuk K. Li,et al.  Synthetic aperture radar interferometry , 2000, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[23]  Giovanni Nico Exact closed-form geolocation for SAR interferometry , 2002, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[24]  Pedro M. A. Miranda,et al.  On the Use of the WRF Model to Mitigate Tropospheric Phase Delay Effects in SAR Interferograms , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.