Differential SAR interferometry technique for control of linear infrastructures affected by ground instability phenomena

Abstract

The Italian territory is strongly affected by ground instability phenomena and the occurrence of geological events, such as landslides and subsidence, is one of the main causes of damage to linear infrastructures, such as roads, bridges, railways and retaining walls, resulting in important socio-economic and human losses. To this aim, the frequent and accurate monitoring of surface displacements plays a key role in risk prevention and mitigation activities. In the last decade, a considerable interest towards innovative approaches has grown among the scientific community and land management institutions. In particular, Differential Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) technique represents a useful tool to provide information on temporal and spatial evolution both of ground instability phenomena and of their interaction with man-made facilities, thanks to its accuracy, high spatial resolution, non-invasiveness and long-term temporal coverage, at reasonable costs. In this work, a GIS-semiautomatic approach, using Synthetic Aperture Radar data acquired by COSMO-SkyMed sensor, has been successfully applied to detect landslide-induced effects in terms of deformations of a linear infrastructure interested by slow-moving landslides in Campania Region (Italy).