It is well known that satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) is capable of measuring surface displacement with a typical accuracy on the order of millimeters to centimeters. However, when the true deformation vector differs from the satellite line-of-sight (LOS), the sensitivity decreases and interpretation of InSAR deformation measurements becomes challenging. By combining displacement data from extensive ascending and descending TerraSAR-X datasets collected during the summer seasons of 2009-2014, we estimate two-dimensional (2D) InSAR surface displacement. Displacement data are decomposed into vertical and west/east deformation, dip and combined deformation vector, and validated using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data. We use the decomposed dataset to visualize variations in surface velocity and direction on unstable slopes in a periglacial environment with sporadic permafrost in northern Norway. By identifying areas with uplift and subsidence, and detecting velocity changes (downslope acceleration/deceleration) and related areas of extension and compression, we are able to explain driving and controlling mechanisms and geomorphology in two rockslides and one area with solifluction landforms.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.