INSAR APPLICATIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
INSAR APPLICATIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Summary/Abstract: SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) images have been used since 1978, when the first SAR satellite (SEASAT) was launched. Since then the technique has improved and its applications have become wider. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) images are based on two or more SAR images that have different temporal resolution. They represent the same area while the angle from which they were acquired is slightly different. From the analysis based on the first situation one can study the dynamics of a phenomenon (e.g. a flashflood, an earthquake or the subsidence/uplift of an area). From the analysis based on the second situation, high resolution digital elevation models, up to five meters, can be derived. Applications range from geology – tectonics, neotectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, identification of ores; geomorphology – uplifts and subsidence (less than one mm); glaciology; risk studies – elements at risk, early response, damages after a risk materializes; land use – monitoring forests and changes in land use; urban applications –differentiating between urban and rural settlements, extracting buildings and measuring them, changing detection. Because of their high-resolution and because they are relatively easily obtained, SAR images have become quite popular for earth observation. InSAR was applied for Bucharest city, in a study led by the University of Bucharest in collaboration with SwRI, USA. The preliminary results emphasized the importance of InSAR technique regarding geomorphological analyses.

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