LiCSAR: Tools for automated generation of Sentinel-1 frame interferograms
Abstract
For over two decades, radar interferometry has been a successful, tool for measuring ground deformation. However, until now, satellite radar data have been acquired on an ad-hoc basis. The Sentinel-1 mission, operational since October 2014, is the first to systematically acquire these data on a global scale. Moreover, the default mode of radar acquisition operation for Sentinel-1 is the new Terrain Observation by Progressive Scans (TOPS) mode. Processing these data requires a major shift in methodology in comparison to traditional approaches. We have developed an InSAR time series processing approach, which efficiently processes the data from this new type of SAR constellation, with the goal to deliver ground deformation products with the highest possible precision. A core component of this approach is a newly-developed, almost unsupervised, system that integrates methods to obtain time-dependent surface deformation estimates. Over the next 1-2 years, the resulting ground velocity maps should meet the desired accuracy of 1 mm/yr/100 km to measure strain-rates (10 nanostrain/yr) at a comparable level to current existing sparse regional GPS measurement networks. In this communication, we present LiCSAR, a processing chain developed to achieve seamless stack/time series products (linear velocity and displacement time series) using Sentinel-1 TOPS SAR images. LiCSAR is created to address particular aspects of the Sentinel-1 data, which differ from the traditional stripmap mode interferometry. Here, we describe the different steps we have adopted, including; i) to generate consistent image SAR stack of images for interferometry based on heterogeneous Sentinel-1 data slice products, ii) to coregister TOPS SAR image stacks containing 10s to 100s of images acquired over many years and iii) to efficiently ingest and process newly acquired data. We illustrate some of the special features of our processing system with new results for a few selected target regions, such as Turkey, Mt. Etna volcano in Italy and the United Kingdom.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFM.G23A1037W
- Keywords:
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- 1240 Satellite geodesy: results;
- GEODESY AND GRAVITYDE: 1241 Satellite geodesy: technical issues;
- GEODESY AND GRAVITYDE: 7215 Earthquake source observations;
- SEISMOLOGYDE: 8419 Volcano monitoring;
- VOLCANOLOGY