Fast detection of ground motions on vulnerable elements using Sentinel-1 InSAR data

Abstract

The detection of active movements that could threat the infrastructures and the population is one of the main priorities of the risk management chain. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) techniques represent one of the most useful answers to this task; however, it is difficult to manage the huge amount of information derived from the interferometric analysis. In this work, we present a procedure for deriving impact assessment maps, over a regional test site, using as starting point Sentinel-1 SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) images and a catalogue of elements at risk that acts as a second input of the methodology. We applied the proposed approach, named as Vulnerable Elements Activity Maps (VEAM), to the islands of Gran Canaria, La Gomera and Tenerife (Spain), where we analysed SAR images covering the time interval November 2014-September 2016. The methodology, meant to be a powerful tool for reducing the time needed for a complete analysis of a full stack of InSAR data, is ideally suited for Civil Protection Authorities. The application of the methodology allowed to detect 108 areas affected by active deformation that are threatening one or more elements at risk in 25 municipalities of the three islands.

Persistent Scatterers continuous streaming for landslide monitoring and mapping: the case of the Tuscany region (Italy)

“…Benefitting the enhanced imaging capabilities of Sentinel-1, Barra et al (2017) proposed an approach, based on the spatial filtering of ground deformation maps, to detect unstable areas at wide scale. Treasuring this approach, procedures for deriving impact assessment maps have been presented at wide (Solari et al 2018b) and local scale . Exploiting the operational readiness of Sentinel-1, the monitoring system active over the Tuscan region provides regional authorities with continuous information on where and how fast the ground is moving and, more importantly, offers early indications of non-linear ground motions.…”

“…Multi-interferometric approaches have been widely used and validated by geoscientists in different fields of landslide analysis, such as detection and mapping (e.g. Bardi et al 2014;Bianchini et al 2012), characterisation of mechanism Del Soldato et al 2018) and modelling (Berardino et al 2003); through the analysis of deformation time series, it has been used in the identification of velocity changes in landslide evolution (Berti et al 2013, Solari et al 2018a, 2018b and in the a-posteriori prediction of failure time (Intrieri et al 2018;Carlà et al 2017).…”

A Methodology to Detect and Update Active Deformation Areas Based on Sentinel-1 SAR Images

“…Moreover, all the Sentinel-1 satellite data are free of charge, improving the long-term sustainability of the methodology from the point of view of the costs. For a qualitative estimation of the costs in terms of people and time needed by the methodology application, refer to [33].…”

“…A step forward is the use of ADA map to rapidly evaluate the impact of the detected deformations on buildings and infrastructures, as explained in [33].…”

Satellite radar data for back-analyzing a landslide event: the Ponzano (Central Italy) case study

“…Satellite-based earth observation (EO) techniques guarantee a data coverage with high temporal and spatial density of measurements, ideally suited for slow-moving landslide monitoring (Tralli et al 2005). In this framework, the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images for deriving the phase information related to the ground displacements is nowadays commonly used in the civil protection practices and as a valuable tool for monitoring pre-and post-event movements (Corsini et al 2006;Canuti et al 2007;Farina et al 2007;Pagliara et al 2014;Raspini et al 2017;Solari et al 2017). …”