Investigating ground instabilities in Indonesia through SAR interferometry

Indonesia is periodically affected by severe volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which are geologically coupled to the convergence of the Australian tectonic plate beneath the Sunda Plate. Multi-temporal SAR interferometry (MTI) can be used to support studying and modelling of terrain movements. This work is aimed at performing an analysis of ground displacements over Indonesian sites through MTI techniques. Test sites have been selected according to the availability of archived SAR data, GNSS networks, and geological data. A stack of COSMO-SkyMed data, acquired in stripmap mode between 2011 and 2015, has been selected over the Banda Aceh region in Sumatra island. Geological maps of the test sites are available, and several GNSS stations from the Continuously Operating Reference Stations Indonesian network are found in the area of interest. Both the SPINUA and the StaMPS MTI algorithms have been used for processing the data, and deriving displacement maps. The ground deformations detected on the area are interpreted according to the available geological and geophysical information. The MTI results seem to confirm the inactivity of the Aceh fault segment, while the lack of coherent targets hinders reliable displacement measurements along the Seulineum segment. MTI data additionally allowed to identify local, non-tectonic ground instabilities: several areas are affected by subsidence due to unconsolidated coastal and alluvial sediments, deserving more investigations by local authorities. Finally, MTI results could be useful to integrate and update data from the existing GPS network.