Interferometric combination of pairs of SAR images acquired by the European ERS‐1 satellite maps deformation fields associated with two phenomena, both of small spatial extension and located in SE France: the one is rapid terrain deformation caused by a landslide near the city of Saint Etienne de Tinée, and the other is slower subsidence caused by underground coal mining near Gardanne. Unlike interferometric measurement of wide‐field deformation, atmospheric propagation heterogeneity is not an accuracy‐limiting factor. Although the radar data confirm prior knowledge concerning the landslide, such an application of SAR interferometry appears difficult under normal conditions of observation using current spaceborne radar systems. The study of soil subsidence, however, can be generalized and improves prior knowledge of the displacement field, which has here been modeled assuming elastic deformation in a half‐space from several sources. The two examples help to understand the limits of the interferometric technique.
Synthetic Aperture Radar interferometry (InSAR) is a particularly interesting tool whenever aiming at assessing ground deformation phenomena. It allows a regional scale monitoring, but also an historical assessment of the deformation by using the existent SAR image archives (dating back to the beginning of 1992 for the ERS-1/2 sensors of the European Space Agency). In this paper, we review the core aspects of SAR interferometry techniques and illustrate them using application examples related to urban or mining ground deformation. To cite this article: D.
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