Thèses sur le sujet « Remote Sensing, Landslides, SAR Interferometry »

Dams are man-made structures that in order to keep functioning and to be considered structurally healthy need constant monitoring. Assessing the deformation of dams can be time consuming and economically costly. Recently, the technique of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) has proved its potential to measure ground and structural deformation. This geodetic method represents a cost-effective way to monitor millimetre-level displacements and can be used as supplemental analysis to detect movements in the structure and its surroundings. The objective of this work is to assess the practicality of the method through the analysis of the surface deformation of the Ajaure dam located in northern Sweden, in the period 2014-2017, using the freely available Sentinel-1A images. The scenes, 51 in ascending and 47 in descending mode, were processed exploiting the Persistent Scatterer (PS) technique and deformation trends, and time series were produced. Built in the 60’s, the Ajaure embankment dam is considered as high consequence, meaning that a failure would cause socio-economic damages to the communities involved and, for this reason, the dam needs constant attention. So far, a program of automatic measurements in situ has been collecting data, which have been used partly to compare with InSAR results. Results of the multi temporal analysis of the limited PS points on/around the dam show that the dam has been subsiding more intensely toward the centre, where maximum values are of approximately 5 ± 1.25 mm/year (descending) and 2 ± 1.27 mm/year (ascending) at different locations (separated of approximately 70 m). Outermost points instead show values within -0.7 and 0.9 mm/year, describing a stable behaviour. The decomposition of the rate has furthermore revealed that the crest in the observation period has laterally moved toward the reservoir. It has been observed that the operation of loading and unloading the reservoir influence the dam behaviour. The movements recorded by the PS points on the dam also correlate with the air temperature (i.e. seasonal cycle). The research revealed that the snow cover and the vegetation could have interfered with the signal, that resulted in a relative low correlation. Therefore, the number of PS points on and around the dam is limited, and comparison with the geodetic data is only based on a few points. The comparison shows general agreement, showing the capacities of the InSAR method. The study constitutes a starting point for further improvements, for example observation in longer period when more Sentinel1 images of the study area are collected. Installation of corner reflectors at the dam site and/or by use of high resolution SAR data is also suggested.

Persistent Scatterer Interferometric techniques are very powerful geodetic tools for land deformation monitoring that offer the typical advantages of the satellite remote sensing SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) systems : a wide coverage at a relatively high resolution. Those techniques are based on the analysis of a set of SAR images acquired over a given area. They overcome the decorrelation problem by identifying elements (in resolution cells) with a high quality returned SAR signal which remains stable in a series of interferograms. These techniques have been useful for the analysis of urban areas, where man-made objects produce good reflections that dominate over the background scattering, as well as in field areas where the density of infrastructures is more limited. Typically, PSI technique requires an approximate a priori temporal model for the detection of the deformation, even though characterizing the temporal evolution of a deformation is commonly one of the objectives of any study.This work is focused on a particular PSI technique, which is named Stable Point Network (SPN) and that it has been completely developed by Altamira Information in 2003. The work concisely outlines the main characteristics of this technique, and describes its main products: average deformation maps, deformation time series of the measured points, and the so-called maps of the residual topographic error, which are used to precisely geocode the PSI products. The main objectives of this PhD are the identification and analysis of the drawbacks of this processing chain, and the development of new tools and methodologies in order to overcome them. First, the performances of the SPN technique are examined and illustrated by means of practical cases (based on real test sites made with data coming from different sensors) and simulated scenarios.Thus, the main drawbacks of the technique are identified and discussed, such as the lack of automatic quality control parameters, the evaluation of the input data quality, the selection of good points for the measurements and the use of a functional model to unwrap the phases based on a linear deformation trend in time. Then, different enhancements are proposed. In particular, the automatic quality control of the coregistration procedure has been introduced through the analysis of the inter-pixel position of some natural point targets-like pixels identified within the images. The enhancements in the selection of the final points of measurements (the final PSI map) come by means of the analysis of the SAR signal signature of the strong targets presented within the image, in order to select only the center of the main lobe as point of measurement. The introduction of robustness within some critical steps of the technique is done by means of the analysis of the rotational of the estimates in close loops within a network of relative measurements, and by means of the implementation of a different integration methodology, which can be ran in parallel in order to compare it with the classical one. Finally, the main drawback of the technique, the use of a linear model for the detection of ground deformations, is addressed with the development of a new fitting methodology which allows possible change of trends within the analyzed time span. All those enhancements are evaluated with the use of real examples of applications and with simulated data. In particular, the new methodology for detecting non-linear ground deformations has been tested in the city of Paris, where a large stacking of ERS1/2 and ENVISAT SAR images are available. Those images are covering a very large time period of analysis at where some known non-linear ground deformations where occurring

Mit der Weiterentwicklung von Sensoren und Methoden hat die Satellitenfernerkundung innerhalb der letzten 20 Jahre nicht nur einen großen Stellenwert in der Polarforschung errungen, sondern vor allem die Herangehensweisen an eine Vielzahl glaziologischer Probleme grundlegend verändert. RADAR-Sensoren (Radio Detection and Ranging) sind dabei besonders bei der Erkundung vereister Regionen hilfreich und tragen stark zur Ableitung klimasensitiver Parameter im Bereich der Antarktis bei. Nach einem einführenden Überblick im ersten wird im zweiten Kapitel mit Darstellungen zur Nutzung von RADAR-Messungen für Fernerkundungszwecke begonnen. Die zur Erhöhung der räumlichen Auflösung verwendete SAR-Prozessierung (Synthetic Aperture Radar) wird daraufhin kurz umrissen, bevor zu den Grundlagen der interferometrischen Auswertung (InSAR) übergeleitet wird. Bei dieser werden Phasendifferenzen unterschiedlicher Aufnahmen für Messzwecke eingesetzt. In den Beschreibungen wird aufgezeigt, wie sich derartige Messungen für die Ermittlung von Oberflächentopographie und Fließverhalten in polaren Regionen nutzen lassen. Eine Darstellung der ebenfalls benötigten Methoden zur Bestimmung von Verschiebungen in Bildpaaren und das Messprinzip der Laseraltimetrie beenden diesen Theorieteil. Das dritte Kapitel der Arbeit ist der Vorstellung des Arbeitsgebietes und der genutzten Datensätze gewidmet. Nach der geographischen Einordnung des Untersuchungsgebietes werden die wichtigsten glaziologischen Gegebenheiten vorgestellt. In der sich anschließenden Beschreibung genutzter Datensätze werden vor allem die für diese Region verfügbaren Höhen- und Ozeangezeitenmodelle intensiver besprochen. Die Bestimmung der Oberflächentopographie durch differentielle SAR-Interferometrie (DInSAR) ist Thema des vierten Kapitels. Nachdem die nötigen technischen Aspekte des Prozessierungsablaufes knapp erläutert wurden, werden die Unterschiede bei der Doppeldifferenzbildung benachbarter und identischer Wiederholspuren herausgearbeitet. Danach wird am Beispiel gezeigt, wie mithilfe von ICESat-Daten (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) eine Basislinienverbesserung zur genaueren Höhenbestimmung durchgeführt werden kann. Die ursprünglich separat abgeleiteten Höhenmodelle werden dann zu einer gemeinsamen Lösung kombiniert, welche abschließend hinsichtlich ihrer Genauigkeit besprochen und anderen Modellen vergleichend gegenübergestellt wird. Die Ableitung von Fließgeschwindigkeiten mit dem Hintergrund einer späteren Berechnung von Massenflüssen ist Gegenstand des fünften Kapitels, wobei drei unterschiedliche Methoden genutzt werden. Im ersten Fall wird das für RADAR-Bilder typische, hochfrequente Rauschen zur Bestimmung von Verschiebungen in ALOS-Daten (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) genutzt. Mit dieser Methode können durchgehende Fließgeschwindigkeitsfelder vom aufliegenden Bereich über die Aufsetzzone bis auf das Schelfeis ermittelt werden. DesWeiteren werden aus ERS-Daten (European Remote Sensing Satellite), die über einen Zeitraum von reichlich 13 Jahren vorliegen, Verschiebungen durch die Verfolgung von unveränderten, aber sich bewegenden Eisstrukturen bestimmt. Bei der als Drittes angewendeten, interferometrischen Methode werden aufsteigende und absteigende Satellitenspuren kombiniert, um die Fließinformationen zu rekonstruieren. In den jeweiligen Sektionen wird neben der Vorstellung der Ergebnisse auch deren Genauigkeit diskutiert. Das letzte große, sechste Kapitel untergliedert sich in zwei Teile. Im ersten dieser beiden Abschnitte wird gezeigt, wie InSAR und DInSAR zur Lagekartierung der Aufsetzzone eingesetzt werden können. Dabei werden die auf diese Weise ermittelten Ergebnisse dargestellt und diskutiert. Im zweiten, umfangreicheren Teil werden die zuvor gewonnenen Höhen- und Geschwindigkeitsinformationen genutzt, um deren Einfluss aus den InSAR-Messungen zu eliminieren, wodurch vertikale Höhenunterschiede mittels InSAR bestimmt werden können. Dies ist besonders für den Bereich der Aufsetzzone und des Schelfeises von Interesse, da diese Areale teilweise oder vollständig von Ozeangezeiten beeinflusst werden. Nach einer Luftdruckkorrektion werden den ermittelten Höhenunterschieden (entlang selektierter Profile) die Prädiktionen zwölf verfügbarer Ozeangezeitenmodelle gegenübergestellt. Die RMS-Werte dieser Differenzen werden abschließend genutzt, um die Qualität der Ozeangezeitenmodelle für die Region des Arbeitsgebietes einzustufen. Zum Abschluss werden in einer Zusammenfassung noch einmal die wichtigsten Ergebnisse aller Kapitel resümiert und bewertet
The development of new satellite sensors within the last 20 years along with changes towards more sophisticated processing strategies has not only given a new impetus to remote sensing data in view of polar research but also changed how a variety of glaciological problems are being addressed today. Particularly RADAR (radio detection and ranging) sensors are well-suited for the observation of glaciated areas and have already helped to retrieve a vast amount of climate sensitive parameters from the area of Antarctica. After an introductive overview at the beginning, the second chapter continues with the description of how RADAR measurements can be used to generate remote sensing images. The principle of synthetic aperture RADAR (SAR) which allows a better focusing of the RADAR measurements and therewith a rigorous increase of the spatial resolution of the images is outlined generally before more precise descriptions explain how interferometric SAR (InSAR) analyses can be used for the determination of surface topography heights and area-wide flow velocities. Two other techniques, namely matching methods for the determination of shifts between two images as well as the laser satellite altimetry are explained at the end of this chapter which closes the theoretical basics. The next section introduces the area of interest along with data sets which were used for validation purposes. After a careful exposure of the geographical situation, single objects such as ice streams and ice shelves are described in more detail. The following part, the data set introduction, has besides the description of other measurements its focus on topography and ocean tide models which are available for the area of investigation. Chapter four deals with the estimation of surface topography heights from differential InSAR (DInSAR) analyses. Therein the major differences for the usage of similar repeat tracks in contrast to neighboring, overlapping tracks will be shown and thoroughly discussed. The example of one track will be used to demonstrate how the required baseline estimation can be achieved if ICESat (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) profiles are used as tie points. Afterwards, all separately derived height models will be combined to obtain one final solution followed by an error analysis. A comparison to other available elevation models visualizes the spatial resolution of the derived model. The utilization of three different methods for the estimation of surface flow velocities (with the background of possible mass flux determinations) is the topic of the fifth chapter. The first case describes the usage of the high frequent noise contained in RADAR images for the tracking of horizontal surface displacements. Based on ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) data a flow velocity field which extends from the interior of the ice sheet across the grounding zone up to the ice shelf will be presented. Secondly, geocoded ERS (European Remote Sensing Satellite) images covering a time span of more than 13 years are used to track the motions of well-structured flat areas (ice shelf and glacier tongue). In the third approach used descending and ascending satellite passes will be combined in conjunction with a surface parallel flow assumption to interferometrically derive flow velocities in grounded areas. In each section respective errors will be discussed in order to evaluate the accuracy of the performed measurements. The last bigger chapter, number six, is divided into two sections. In the first one the adoption of SAR and InSAR with respect to the mapping of the grounding line location will be demonstrated. Results of the entire working area will be presented and compared to other data. The second section deploys the results of topography heights and flow velocities to remove both effects from the InSAR measurements which then allows to also measure height changes. This is of particular interest for the floating areas of ice shelf which are fully affected by ocean tides as well as for the grounding zone locations which partially experience deformations due to these height changes. After the correction for air pressure, changes between the image acquisitions, height changes along selected profiles are compared to twelve different ocean tide models. The RMS values of the differences are then used to evaluate the quality of these models for the working area. The most important results and conclusions are summarized in the last chapter

Tesi di ricerca sul monitoraggio di fenomeni di deformazione al suolo e di infrastrutture effettuata attraverso l’utilizzo di tecniche interferometriche di base ed avanzate. Il lavoro è stato svolto presso il Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra di Firenze-Università degli Studi di Firenze (DST-UNIFI) e presso l’Institut de Geomàtica, all’interno del CTTC (Centre Tecnològic Telecomunicacions Catalunya), Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spagna. This thesis work aims to demonstrate the potential of SAR interferometry as a tool for detecting and monitoring hydrogeological instability. This goal is achived by means of a compilation of interesting results obtained applying different DInSAR methodologies and analysed at different scale levels: form single infrastructures up to regional map. The greatest importance of this scientific work is how the combination of InSAR and geomorphologic tools to improve hydrogeological risk assessment both at regional and local scale.

Atmospheric artifacts superimposed on interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements have the potential to greatly impede the accurate estimation of deformation signals. The research presented in this dissertation demonstrates a novel InSAR time series algorithm, called HiRAPS algorithm, for effectively estimating high resolution atmospheric phase screens (APS) from differential InSAR measurements. In summary, the HiRAPS algorithm utilizes short time span differential interferograms and rearranges components of existing advanced InSAR techniques to identify a higher density of scatterers used to create the APS. The improved scatterer density allows one to estimate high spatial frequency atmospheric signals not recovered from existing InSAR time series techniques. The HiRAPS algorithm was tested with simulated and actual data, which contain phase contributions from linear and nonlinear deformation, topographic height errors, and atmospheric artifacts. Simulated differential interferograms were generated to have the same spatial and temporal baselines as the actual differential interferograms formed from RADARSAT-1 data over Phoenix, Arizona. The APS superimposed on simulated differential interferograms were then estimated and compared to simulated APS. The root mean square error (RMSE) between the estimated and simulated APS was calculated to qualitatively assess the different values obtained. The RMSE was 0.26 radians when utilizing the HiRAPS algorithm, compared to an RMSE value of 0.39 radians using an implementation of the permanent scatterer (PS) algorithm. The HiRAPS algorithm also showed its applicability for estimating high spatial frequency atmospheric signals for actual data. Sixty-six SAR images, starting from October 5, 2002 and spanning 5 years, were processed for this research. The APS pixel density obtained using the HiRAPS algorithm was 253 pixels per square kilometer, compared to 14 pixels per square kilometer utilizing the PS algorithm. The APS superimposed on the differential interferograms were estimated with both the proposed and PS algorithms. High resolution APS were estimated with the HiRAPS algorithm, whereas only low resolution APS were obtained with the PS algorithm. After estimating and removing estimated APS, the phase stability of APS-free differential interferograms was examined by identifying the permanent scatterers (PS). The final density of identified PS obtained with the HiRAPS algorithm was 453 PS per square kilometer, whereas the density of detected PS using the generic PS algorithm was 381 PS per square kilometer. The maximum difference in the deformation time series between the HiRAPS algorithm and the PS algorithm was less than 6 mm. However, the HiRAPS algorithm resulted in less apparent noise in the time series than the PS algorithm due to the precise estimation of APS.
text

Cheng, Shilai.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-150).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstract also in Chinese.

The rift of Corinth (Greece) has been long identified as a site of major importance in Europe due to its intense tectonic activity. It is one of the world’s most rapidly extending continental regions and it has one of the highest seismicity rates in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The GPS studies conducted since 1990 indicate a north–south extension rate across the rift of ~1.5 cm year-1 around its western termination. Geological evidences show that the south coast of the rift is uplifting whereas the north part is subsiding. The western termination of the rift in the Patras broader area, with many active faults lying very close and inside the city of Patras, presents major scientific and socio-economic importance. Recent seismicity has affected this end of the rift with the Movri (Achaia) earthquake in june 2008 and a seismic swarm around Efpalio (Fokida) in January 2010. Additionally the presence of a plurality of geophysical phenomena and morphological features renders this area and the Gulf of Corinth generally, as natural laboratory, a place of international initiatives as the Corinth Rift Laboratory and a case study for the EO Supersites initiative. Seismic and geodetic ground measurements from permanent networks (since 2000) and measuring campaigns (since 1990) have been (and are) performed. Moreover dense SAR data are available since 1992 and the ERS1 mission. Motivated by the lack of precise and extended mapping of the vertical deformation of the area and by the limitations of the GPS network (in terms of density of points) we investigate, model and interpret a large set of SAR interferometry data completed by the GPS data. The SAR interferometry data are very powerful for measuring vertical motions, for mapping localized deformations across faults or other features and for mapping and modeling the co-seismic deformation produced by earthquakes. We processed ascending and ascending acquisitions of ASAR/ENVISAT in the period between 2002-2010, to produce Persistent Scatterrers and Small Baseline Subsets deformation rates maps. These products have been combined together but also constrained with a number of GPS observations in order to extract the precise Up-Down and East-West deformation components field. The methodology chain performed globally well over the area (despite the vegetation cover and slopes) and provides accurate and robust results in many areas. We verified the agreement between GPS and the InSAR deformation field rates. We also compared them with remote sensing and ground observations of independent studies. We focused in specific case studies and presented the deformation rates along cross sections inside the city of Patras, around the Rion-Antirion bridge, around the urban areas of Psathopyrgos, Aigion, Sellianitika, Nafpaktos, Ακratas, the island of Trizonia, and the river deltas of Psathopyrgos, Sellianitika, Aigion, Mornos, Marathias and Akrata. Significant ground deformation is observed within the city of Patras itself, due not only to urban subsidence often seen elsewhere, but also to the motion of shallow structures likely to be induced by deep tectonic movements at the junction of the right lateral strike-slip fault linked to the Movri and penetrating inland between Rio and Patras (trans-tensional fault of Rio Patras), and the Psathopirgos normal fault at the entrance of the Corinth Rift. The Rio-Patras fault is a transition, oblique, structure, connecting the strike-slip zone to the south and the extentional area to the east. The Aigion fault appears very active with uplift rate of about 2mm/an, the highest rate across the Corinth Rift in the sample period, this uprising damping in the three kilometers separating this fault from the West Helike fault to the south. The observed discontinuities of the deformation field are not always correlated with seismic activity at the same place in the sampled period. The Temeni-Valimitika delta, east of Aigion, is the only delta of the area not subsiding (at least at its bigger part). We think that this is because it is located on the footwall of the Aigion fault with the delta compaction/subsidence balanced by the tectonic uplift. All the other deltas are subsiding due to the compaction of their sediments, and in the big ones it is possible to observe a linear increasing rate as approaching their coastal borders. The 2008 and 2010 seismic events occurred in the study area are modeled by inversion of their sources parameters using a model of dislocation in an homogenous elastic half-space constrained by the seismic, the GPS and the SAR interferometry data. At the broad scale, most of our studied tectonic features are pieces of a (diffuse) triple junction between micro-plates at the boundary between the rift of Corinth to the east and the termination of the Hellenic arc to the west. We briefly investigated and discuss the Trikonida and Aitoliko valley deformation field in the northwest of the triple junction area. Finally for the sake of completeness and in order to assess the capabilities of the space geodesy we presented some inferred discontinuities occurred by landslides and some by unclear origin and requiring further investigations.
Η ρηξιγενής ζώνη της Κορίνθου (Ελλάδα) έχει από καιρό αναγνωριστεί ως μια περιοχή μείζονος σημασίας στην Ευρώπη, λόγω της έντονης τεκτονικής της δραστηριότητας. Είναι μία από τις πιο ταχέως εφελκούμενες ηπειρωτικές περιοχές στον κόσμο και παρουσιάζει ένα από τους υψηλότερους ρυθμούς σεισμικότητας στον Ευρω-μεσογειακό χώρο. Μελέτες GPS που διεξάγονται από το 1990 εκτιμούν το ρυθμό εφελκυσμού περί τα 1.5 εκατοστά ανά έτος γύρω στο δυτικό πέρας του. Γεωλογικές μελέτες δείχνουν ότι η νότια ακτή του ανυψώνεται, ενώ η βόρεια υποχωρεί. Το δυτικό πέρας της ρηξιγενής ζώνης στην ευρύτερη περιοχή της Πάτρας, με πολλά ενεργά ρήγματα που βρίσκονται πολύ κοντά και μέσα στην πόλη, παρουσιάζει σημαντικές επιστημονικές και κοινωνικο-οικονομικές προεκτάσεις. H πρόσφατη σεισμικότητα έχει εκδηλωθεί σε αυτή τη περιοχή με τον σεισμό της Μόβρης (Αχαΐα) τον Ιούνιου του 2008 και της σεισμικής ακολουθίας κοντά στο Ευπάλιο (Φωκίδα) τον Ιανουάριο του 2010. Επιπλέον, η παρουσία ενός πλήθους γεωφυσικών φαινομένων και γεωμορφολογικών χαρακτηριστικών καθιστά την εν λόγω περιοχή, αλλά και τον Κορινθιακό Κόλπο εν γένει, ένα φυσικό εργαστήριο, μια περιοχή μελέτης για διεθνείς πρωτοβουλίες, όπως το Corinth Rift Laboratory και μια περιπτωσιολογική μελέτη της πρωτοβουλίας ‘EO Supersites’. Σεισμικές και γεωδαιτικές επιτόπιες παρατηρήσεις, από μόνιμα δίκτυα (από το 2000), και δειγματοληπτικές μετρήσεις (από το 1990), συνεχίζονται να διενεργούνται από το 2000 και 1990 αντίστοιχα. Επιπλέον πυκνές λήψεις δεδομένων SAR είναι διαθέσιμες από το 1992 από την αποστολή του ERS-1. Παρακινούμενοι από την έλλειψη μιας λεπτομερούς, ακριβούς και εκτεταμένης χαρτογράφησης της κάθετης παραμόρφωσης στην περιοχή ενδιαφέροντος και τους περιορισμούς του δικτύου GPS (από την άποψη της πυκνότητας της δειγματοληψίας), ερευνούμε, μοντελοποιούμε και ερμηνεύουμε ένα μεγάλο σύνολο δεδομένων διαφορικής συμβολομετρίας SAR και μετρήσεων GPS. Τα δεδομένα διαφορικής συμβολομετρίας μπορούν να αξιοποιηθούν για την ακριβή μέτρηση κατακόρυφων μετακινήσεων, για τη χαρτογράφηση τοπικών παραμορφώσεων εκατέρωθεν ρηγμάτων ή άλλων σχηματισμών και για τη χαρτογράφηση και μοντελοποίηση της ενδο-σεισμικής παραμόρφωσης. Επεξεργαστήκαμε δεδομένα ανοδικής και καθοδικής τροχιάς του δέκτη ASAR / ENVISAT της περιόδου μεταξύ 2002-2010, για την παραγωγή χαρτών ρυθμού παραμόρφωσης Σταθερών Σκεδαστών (Persistent Scatterrers) και υποσύνολα μικρών χωρικών γραμμών βάσης (Small Baseline Subsets – SBAS). Τα προϊόντα συνδυάστηκαν κατάλληλα, αλλά και διορθώθηκαν από μια σειρά από παρατηρήσεις GPS, προκειμένου να εξαχθεί το ακριβές πεδίο παραμόρφωσης κατά την κατακόρυφη και κατά την διεύθυνση Ανατολής-Δύσης συνιστώσα. Η ακολουθούμενη μεθοδολογία λειτούργησε καλά σε ευρεία κλίμακα στην περιοχή ενδιαφέροντος (παρά την κάλυψη της βλάστησης και το έντονο ανάγλυφο) και παρείχε ακριβείς και αξιόπιστες εκτιμήσεις σε πολλές επί μέρους περιοχές. Επαληθεύσαμε τη συμφωνία μεταξύ των πεδίων παραμόρφωσης των παρατηρήσεων GPS και συμβολομετρίας. Επίσης τα συγκρίναμε με δεδομένα τηλεπισκόπησης και επίγειες παρατηρήσεις από ανεξάρτητες μελέτες. Εστιάσαμε σε συγκεκριμένες περιπτωσιολογικές μελέτες και παρουσιάσαμε τους ρυθμούς παραμόρφωσης μαζί με διατομές μέσα στην πόλη της Πάτρας, γύρω από τη γέφυρα Ρίου-Αντιρρίου, γύρω από τις αστικές περιοχές του Ψαθόπυργου, Αίγιου, Σελλιανίτικων, Ναυπάκτου, Ακράτας, νήσου Τριζονίων, και τα ποτάμια δέλτα του Ψαθόπυργου, Σελλιανίτικων, Αιγίου, Μόρνου, Μαραθιά και Ακράτας. Σημαντική παραμόρφωση του εδάφους παρατηρείται μέσα στην πόλη της Πάτρας, οφειλόμενη όχι μόνο στην αστική καθίζηση (όπως συμβαίνει συχνά), αλλά και στην μετακίνηση των ρηχών δομών που ενδέχεται να προκαλούνται από βαθιές τεκτονικές μετακινήσεις στην επαφή του δεξιόστροφου ρήγματος πλευρικής ολίσθησης που συνδέεται με τον σεισμό της Μόβρης. Το τελευταίο διεισδύει στη ξηρά και συνδέεται μεταξύ Ρίου και Πάτρας (ρήγμα πλάγιας ολίσθησης) και στη συνέχεια με το κανονικό ρήγμα του Ψαθόπυργου στην είσοδο της ρηξιγενής ζώνης της Κορίνθου. Το ρήγμα Ρίου-Πάτρας αποτελεί μια ζώνη μετάβασης, συνδέοντας την ζώνη πλευρικής ολίσθησης στο Νότο με τις ρηξιγενείς δομές εφελκυσμού στην Ανατολή. Το ρήγμα του Αιγίου παρουσιάζει υψηλή ενεργητικότητα με ρυθμό ανύψωσης περί τα 2 χιλιοστά ανά έτος, ο υψηλότερος στην ρηξιγενή ζώνη της Κορίνθου κατά την περίοδο δειγματοληψίας, ο οποίος αποσβένει στα τρία χιλιόμετρα που χωρίζουν αυτό το ρήγμα με το Δυτικό τμήμα του ρήγματος της Ελίκης στο νότο. Οι παρατηρούμενες ασυνέχειες του πεδίου παραμόρφωσης δεν σχετίζονται πάντα με τη σεισμική δραστηριότητα κατά την περίοδο της μελέτης. Το δέλτα της Τέμενης-Βαλιμίτικων, ανατολικά του Αιγίου, είναι το μόνο δέλτα της περιοχής που δεν υποχωρεί (τουλάχιστον κατά τη μεγαλύτερη έκτασή του). Πιστεύουμε ότι αυτό οφείλεται στο ότι βρίσκεται στο πόδα του ρήγματος του Αιγίου με την συμπίεση/καθίζηση του δέλτα να εξισώνεται με την τεκτονική ανύψωση. Όλα τα άλλα δέλτα υποχωρούν λόγω της συμπίεσης των ιζημάτων τους, και στα μεγαλύτερα είναι δυνατόν να παρατηρηθεί ένας γραμμικώς αυξανόμενος ρυθμός παραμόρφωσης καθώς προσεγγίζουμε το προδέλτα του. Τα σεισμικά γεγονότα του 2008 και 2010 που έλαβαν χώρα στην περιοχή μελέτης μοντελοποιήθηκαν με αναστροφή των παραμέτρων της πηγής παραμόρφωσής τους, χρησιμοποιώντας ένα μοντέλο της μετατόπισης σε ένα ομογενές ελαστικό ημίχωρικό μέσο με χρήση σεισμικών, GPS και συμβολομετρικών δεδομένων. Σε ευρεία κλίμακα, οι περισσότερες υπό μελέτη τεκτονικές δομές αποτελούν τμήματα μιας (διάχυτης) τριπλής επαφής μεταξύ των μικρο-πλακών στο όριο ανάμεσα στη ρηξιγενή ζώνη της Κορίνθου στα Ανατολικά και στον τερματισμό του Ελληνικού τόξου προς τα δυτικά. Ερευνήσαμε συνοπτικά και συζητήσαμε το πεδίο παραμόρφωσης της λίμνης Τριχωνίδας και της κοιλάδας του Αιτολικού στα βορειοδυτικά της περιοχής της τριπλής επαφής. Τέλος, χάρη πληρότητας και για την αξιολόγηση των δυνατοτήτων της διαστημικής γεωδαισίας παρουσιάσαμε μερικές ασυνέχειες οι οποίες άλλες προκλήθηκαν από κατολισθήσεις και άλλες με ασαφή προέλευση οι οποίες χρήζουν περαιτέρω έρευνας.

InSAR algorithms have been widely applied in monitoring and mapping for the purposes of engineering geology research and the InSAR derived products have been extensively used in geological risk management by administrative entities and Emergency Management authorities. In this PhD thesis, the research was focusing on the application of InSAR technique, including conventional DInSAR and advanced SqueeSARTM in cold regions, (1) to locate the deformation hotspot caused by permafrost degradation, then to improve the regional permafrost mapping; (2) to analyze the deformation characteristics caused by the degradation of permafrost temporally and spatially. The research was developed on two sites of cold regions of different geomorphologies. The first case study was focusing on the detection of permafrost degradation phenomena using DInSAR and SqueeSARTM in the low-land permafrost distributed hilly regions in northern Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China. The study area is located at the southern margin of Siberia permafrost region, which is the largest area of the permafrost distribution in the northern Hemisphere. Studies have been revealing that the increasing mean annual air temperature in this study area has been causing the degradation of permafrost in decades and have been bringing geological risks to man-made infrastructures. Initially, the SqueeSARTM analyses using C-band Sentinel-1 and L-band ALOS PALSAR were conducted to reveal the overall displacements time series in the extracted permanent and distributed scatterers of the study area. Then the DInSAR analyses using Sentinel-1 and ALOS PALSAR data were completed to map the deformation hotspot of the study area. Lastly, by combination of the results acquired by SqueeSARTM and DInSAR analyses, the possible spatial distribution of permafrost deformation hotspot was mapped. PS and DS in the permafrost deformation hotspot are selected and analyzed to reveal the characteristics of permafrost degradation in the study area. The results indicate that in the permafrost distributed areas, the deformation velocity has been reduced in recent years from 2015 to 2019 than 2007 to 2010, roughly a decade ago. It could be related to the final degradation phase of the permafrost in recent years. In the second case study, the feasibility of DInSAR and SqueeSARTM in the study of active rock glacier in Alpine environments of mountainous geomorphologies of Aosta Valley Region, Italy was demonstrated, and the deformation characteristics corresponding to the seasonality of active rock glacier were discovered. The seasonal dynamic feature of the active rock glaciers was then analyzed using the regional monitoring results of Aosta Valley Region using Sentinel-1 SqueeSARTM technique and the regional active rock glacier investigation dataset. Interestingly, according to the result of the analysis, the displacement time series of active rock glacier in Aosta Valley Region has shown a half-year lapse compared with the change of regional annual air temperature that is contradictive to the conventional understanding of permafrost deformation dynamics. The driving factor of such phenomena was left unfound and open to the future analysis. Second, combined with high-resolution optical remote sensing imagery, the conventional DInSAR analysis using ALOS PALSAR data collected in summer season of 2007 has detected more active rock glaciers than the regional active rock glacier investigation dataset. The results have provided the possibility of further analysis of improving active rock glacier mapping using InSAR method in the future. In conclusion, this research highlights the value of using spaceborne DInSAR and SqueeSARTM methods in mapping and monitoring active periglacial landforms in cold regions at regional scale. Thanks to its short revisiting time and medium to high spatial resolution, Sentinel-1 data can be used for systematic and continuous monitoring of ground deformation, especially slow and very slow periglacial processes due to the changing climate in cold regions but the effectiveness of the usage of Sentinel-1 in dealing with winter snow cover and dense vegetation should be enhanced. On the other hand, L-band ALOS PALSAR data has solved the problem of vegetation coverage, which extensively exists in the cold region that has limited the capability of InSAR monitoring. The methods mentioned in this thesis are intended to be implemented in the regional or local geological hazard management in both study areas.

Tesis (Magister en Aplicación de Información Espacial)--Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía, Física y Computación, 2018.
Maestría conjunta con el Instituto de Altos Estudios Espaciales "Mario Gulich"- CONAE.
Este trabajo, describe los lineamientos básicos para el estudio de procesos de remoción en masa utilizando teledetección. Se presentan tres casos en diferentes escenarios: El primero en el Sur del Tirol (Norte de Italia), el segundo en la isla El Hierro (Islas Canarias, España) y, el último en la ladera occidental de las Sierras Chicas (Córdoba, Argentina). Las técnicas a implementar consisten en: a) Fotointerpretación; b) Aplicación de interferometría de a pares para generar mapas de desplazamientos y c) Aplicación de interferometría multitemporal (Persistent Scatterer – PS), para analizar desplazamientos en series temporales. Dentro de los resultados, se lista el procedimiento para la generación de inventarios, específicamente tipo de capas vectoriales necesarias para su estudio mediante fotointerpretación: reconocimiento de procesos, tipo de roca, entre otros; comparación de técnicas y datos necesarios para la implementación de interferometría ya sea de a pares ó multitemporal; y características del área de interés, las cuales pueden afectar el resultado de desplazamiento obtenido. Se plasma el análisis en pautas, para ser utilizado en modo genérico, dentro de un servicio de monitoreo operativo de procesos de remoción en masa.
This work describes the basic guidelines in order to study landslides using remote sensing. There are presented three test cases in different scenarios: The first one in South Tyrol (Northern Italy), the second one in El Hierro Island (Canary Islands, Spain), and the last one in Sierras Chicas (Córdoba, Argentina). Implemented techniques were: a) Photointerpretation, b) Interferometry between pairs to generate displacement maps and c) Multitemporal interferometry (Persistent Scatterer – PS) to analyze displacements in temporal series of SAR images. Results include a) inventory vector layers to be obtained from a photo-interpretation, i.e. process recognition and type of rock; b) requirements on both, data to be used in an interferometric analysis and on the characteristics of the area of interest which could affect the resulting displacement. From each studied case, learnt lesson were used to generate the guidelines to extract information to study a generic landslide case using remote sensing. The above generic approach was used to generate several guidelines to be used in a landslide operative monitoring service.

In Earth remote sensing precise characterization of the backscatter coefficient is important to extract valuable information about the observed target. A system that eliminates platform motion during near-nadir airborne observations is presented in this thesis, showing an improvement on the accuracy of measurements for a Ka- band scatterometer previously developed at Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory (MIRSL). These very same results are used to simulate the reflectivity of such targets as seen from a spaceborne radar and estimate height errors based on mission-specific geometry. Finally, data collected from a dual-frequency airborne interferometer com- prised by the Ka-band system and an S-band radar is processed and analyzed to estimate forest heights.

Mit der Weiterentwicklung von Sensoren und Methoden hat die Satellitenfernerkundung innerhalb der letzten 20 Jahre nicht nur einen großen Stellenwert in der Polarforschung errungen, sondern vor allem die Herangehensweisen an eine Vielzahl glaziologischer Probleme grundlegend verändert. RADAR-Sensoren (Radio Detection and Ranging) sind dabei besonders bei der Erkundung vereister Regionen hilfreich und tragen stark zur Ableitung klimasensitiver Parameter im Bereich der Antarktis bei. Nach einem einführenden Überblick im ersten wird im zweiten Kapitel mit Darstellungen zur Nutzung von RADAR-Messungen für Fernerkundungszwecke begonnen. Die zur Erhöhung der räumlichen Auflösung verwendete SAR-Prozessierung (Synthetic Aperture Radar) wird daraufhin kurz umrissen, bevor zu den Grundlagen der interferometrischen Auswertung (InSAR) übergeleitet wird. Bei dieser werden Phasendifferenzen unterschiedlicher Aufnahmen für Messzwecke eingesetzt. In den Beschreibungen wird aufgezeigt, wie sich derartige Messungen für die Ermittlung von Oberflächentopographie und Fließverhalten in polaren Regionen nutzen lassen. Eine Darstellung der ebenfalls benötigten Methoden zur Bestimmung von Verschiebungen in Bildpaaren und das Messprinzip der Laseraltimetrie beenden diesen Theorieteil. Das dritte Kapitel der Arbeit ist der Vorstellung des Arbeitsgebietes und der genutzten Datensätze gewidmet. Nach der geographischen Einordnung des Untersuchungsgebietes werden die wichtigsten glaziologischen Gegebenheiten vorgestellt. In der sich anschließenden Beschreibung genutzter Datensätze werden vor allem die für diese Region verfügbaren Höhen- und Ozeangezeitenmodelle intensiver besprochen. Die Bestimmung der Oberflächentopographie durch differentielle SAR-Interferometrie (DInSAR) ist Thema des vierten Kapitels. Nachdem die nötigen technischen Aspekte des Prozessierungsablaufes knapp erläutert wurden, werden die Unterschiede bei der Doppeldifferenzbildung benachbarter und identischer Wiederholspuren herausgearbeitet. Danach wird am Beispiel gezeigt, wie mithilfe von ICESat-Daten (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) eine Basislinienverbesserung zur genaueren Höhenbestimmung durchgeführt werden kann. Die ursprünglich separat abgeleiteten Höhenmodelle werden dann zu einer gemeinsamen Lösung kombiniert, welche abschließend hinsichtlich ihrer Genauigkeit besprochen und anderen Modellen vergleichend gegenübergestellt wird. Die Ableitung von Fließgeschwindigkeiten mit dem Hintergrund einer späteren Berechnung von Massenflüssen ist Gegenstand des fünften Kapitels, wobei drei unterschiedliche Methoden genutzt werden. Im ersten Fall wird das für RADAR-Bilder typische, hochfrequente Rauschen zur Bestimmung von Verschiebungen in ALOS-Daten (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) genutzt. Mit dieser Methode können durchgehende Fließgeschwindigkeitsfelder vom aufliegenden Bereich über die Aufsetzzone bis auf das Schelfeis ermittelt werden. DesWeiteren werden aus ERS-Daten (European Remote Sensing Satellite), die über einen Zeitraum von reichlich 13 Jahren vorliegen, Verschiebungen durch die Verfolgung von unveränderten, aber sich bewegenden Eisstrukturen bestimmt. Bei der als Drittes angewendeten, interferometrischen Methode werden aufsteigende und absteigende Satellitenspuren kombiniert, um die Fließinformationen zu rekonstruieren. In den jeweiligen Sektionen wird neben der Vorstellung der Ergebnisse auch deren Genauigkeit diskutiert. Das letzte große, sechste Kapitel untergliedert sich in zwei Teile. Im ersten dieser beiden Abschnitte wird gezeigt, wie InSAR und DInSAR zur Lagekartierung der Aufsetzzone eingesetzt werden können. Dabei werden die auf diese Weise ermittelten Ergebnisse dargestellt und diskutiert. Im zweiten, umfangreicheren Teil werden die zuvor gewonnenen Höhen- und Geschwindigkeitsinformationen genutzt, um deren Einfluss aus den InSAR-Messungen zu eliminieren, wodurch vertikale Höhenunterschiede mittels InSAR bestimmt werden können. Dies ist besonders für den Bereich der Aufsetzzone und des Schelfeises von Interesse, da diese Areale teilweise oder vollständig von Ozeangezeiten beeinflusst werden. Nach einer Luftdruckkorrektion werden den ermittelten Höhenunterschieden (entlang selektierter Profile) die Prädiktionen zwölf verfügbarer Ozeangezeitenmodelle gegenübergestellt. Die RMS-Werte dieser Differenzen werden abschließend genutzt, um die Qualität der Ozeangezeitenmodelle für die Region des Arbeitsgebietes einzustufen. Zum Abschluss werden in einer Zusammenfassung noch einmal die wichtigsten Ergebnisse aller Kapitel resümiert und bewertet.
The development of new satellite sensors within the last 20 years along with changes towards more sophisticated processing strategies has not only given a new impetus to remote sensing data in view of polar research but also changed how a variety of glaciological problems are being addressed today. Particularly RADAR (radio detection and ranging) sensors are well-suited for the observation of glaciated areas and have already helped to retrieve a vast amount of climate sensitive parameters from the area of Antarctica. After an introductive overview at the beginning, the second chapter continues with the description of how RADAR measurements can be used to generate remote sensing images. The principle of synthetic aperture RADAR (SAR) which allows a better focusing of the RADAR measurements and therewith a rigorous increase of the spatial resolution of the images is outlined generally before more precise descriptions explain how interferometric SAR (InSAR) analyses can be used for the determination of surface topography heights and area-wide flow velocities. Two other techniques, namely matching methods for the determination of shifts between two images as well as the laser satellite altimetry are explained at the end of this chapter which closes the theoretical basics. The next section introduces the area of interest along with data sets which were used for validation purposes. After a careful exposure of the geographical situation, single objects such as ice streams and ice shelves are described in more detail. The following part, the data set introduction, has besides the description of other measurements its focus on topography and ocean tide models which are available for the area of investigation. Chapter four deals with the estimation of surface topography heights from differential InSAR (DInSAR) analyses. Therein the major differences for the usage of similar repeat tracks in contrast to neighboring, overlapping tracks will be shown and thoroughly discussed. The example of one track will be used to demonstrate how the required baseline estimation can be achieved if ICESat (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) profiles are used as tie points. Afterwards, all separately derived height models will be combined to obtain one final solution followed by an error analysis. A comparison to other available elevation models visualizes the spatial resolution of the derived model. The utilization of three different methods for the estimation of surface flow velocities (with the background of possible mass flux determinations) is the topic of the fifth chapter. The first case describes the usage of the high frequent noise contained in RADAR images for the tracking of horizontal surface displacements. Based on ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) data a flow velocity field which extends from the interior of the ice sheet across the grounding zone up to the ice shelf will be presented. Secondly, geocoded ERS (European Remote Sensing Satellite) images covering a time span of more than 13 years are used to track the motions of well-structured flat areas (ice shelf and glacier tongue). In the third approach used descending and ascending satellite passes will be combined in conjunction with a surface parallel flow assumption to interferometrically derive flow velocities in grounded areas. In each section respective errors will be discussed in order to evaluate the accuracy of the performed measurements. The last bigger chapter, number six, is divided into two sections. In the first one the adoption of SAR and InSAR with respect to the mapping of the grounding line location will be demonstrated. Results of the entire working area will be presented and compared to other data. The second section deploys the results of topography heights and flow velocities to remove both effects from the InSAR measurements which then allows to also measure height changes. This is of particular interest for the floating areas of ice shelf which are fully affected by ocean tides as well as for the grounding zone locations which partially experience deformations due to these height changes. After the correction for air pressure, changes between the image acquisitions, height changes along selected profiles are compared to twelve different ocean tide models. The RMS values of the differences are then used to evaluate the quality of these models for the working area. The most important results and conclusions are summarized in the last chapter.