Solve Gaps in InSAR Ground Displacement Satellite Monitoring

Radar SAR interferometry is a well-established method used to measure ground movement on the Earth’s surface. By duplicating the orbital path, the precise time and geometry, successive radar signals are captured and analyzed for their differences. It is possible to detect, between captured images, movement or change as small as 2 mm.

While InSAR satellite monitoring data has potential for monitoring infrastructure and assets, from space, it is vital to understand its measurement and analytic limitations.

One of InSAR limitations is that its data coverage and quality varies across a network, caused by the presence of vegetation, snow or ice. This means a wide network may have some areas with high quality data but also areas with no data coverage. You can’t detect and monitor what you can’t see.

This is a standard InSAR interferometry map, showing ground movement around a rail network. In this result, 13.2 km² out of the 72.4 km² (or 18%) of an area prone to landslides contained no ground displacement data. With void data areas, there was no detection of movement under parts of the railroad, highway and area above the slide zone. It is not possible to accurately detect and measure ground displacement with InSAR satellite remote monitoring alone.

There are also inherent limitations in standard SAR interferometry processing that create data coverage noise and interfere with signal clarity that result in image distortions and voids. Large areas within the data are incomplete and non-representative, again making it impossible to accurately detect and measure movement along the entire network.

How do you overcome InSAR limitations to accurately monitor?

MUD® SAR, satellite remote monitoring with its specialized acquisition and processing algorithms, removes noise and distortion and penetrates the surface to see into the subsurface and underwater.

With complete subsurface and underwater data, operators and engineers reveal what has previously gone unseen and may have confidence that all of the spatial data has been included in the MUD® SAR monitoring program.

 MUD® SAR contains all of the surface and subsurface displacement data points along, above and below the railway network. It is possible to accurately and quickly detect the rate, pattern, and direction of ground and underground movement.

To protect your assets and build sustainable infrastructure, you have to connect surface operations with subsurface intelligence. MUD® SAR can help. As the only provider of MUD® SAR subsurface and underwater data and services in the world, Auracle models and monitors, down to 100m, with mm precision, year-round, to link surface conditions to subsurface characteristics of a specific site or across an entire network.

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