Monitoring ground deformation using Persistent Scatters Interferometry (PSI) and Small Baselines (SBAS) techniques integrated in the ESA RSS service: The case study of Valencia, Rome and South Sardinia

Abstract

This work is focused on the infrastructure monitoring of areas which had experienced significant urbanization and therefore, also an increase of the exploitation of natural resources. Persistent Scatters Interferometry (PS-InSAR) and Small Baselines (SBAS) approaches are applied to three study areas for which large datasets of SAR images are available in ascending and descending modes to finally deploy deformation maps of different buildings and infrastructures. Valencia, Rome and South Sardinia areas have been selected for this study, having experienced an increase of the exploitation of natural resources in parallel with their urban expansion. Moreover, Rome is a very special case, where Cultural Heritage permeating the city and its surroundings would suggest the necessity of a tool for monitoring the stability of the different sites. This work wants to analyse the potential deformation that had occurred in these areas during the period 1992 to 2010, by applying Persistent Scatters Interferometry to ESA ERS SAR and Envisat ASAR data.