Evaluation of InSAR and TomoSAR for Monitoring Deformations Caused by Mining in a Mountainous Area with High Resolution Satellite-Based SAR

Abstract

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) have shown numerous applications for subsidence monitoring. In the past 10 years, the Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PSI) and Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) approaches were developed to overcome the problem of decorrelation and atmospheric effects, which are common in interferograms. However, DInSAR or PSI applications in rural areas, especially in mountainous regions, can be extremely challenging. In this study we have employed a combined technique, i.e., SBAS-DInSAR, to a mountainous area that is severely affected by mining activities. In addition, L-band (ALOS) and C-band (ENVISAT) data sets, 21 TerraSAR-X images provided by German Aerospace Center (DLR) with a high resolution have been used. In order to evaluate the ability of TerraSAR-X for mining monitoring, we present a case study of TerraSAR-X SAR images for Subsidence Hazard Boundary (SHB) extraction. The resulting data analysis gives an initial evaluation of InSAR applications within a mountainous region where fast movements and big phase OPEN ACCESS Remote Sens. 2014, 6 1477 gradients are common. Moreover, the experiment of four-dimension (4-D) Tomography SAR (TomoSAR) for structure monitoring inside the mining area indicates a potential near all-wave monitoring, which is an extension of conventional InSAR.

Monitoring Mining Subsidence Using A Combination of Phase-Stacking and Offset-Tracking Methods

“…These parameters can be used to predict the dynamic mining subsidence and to direct coal exploitation for the other working faces in this mining area. Using the InSAR technique to calculate the advance angle of influence was also introduced in reference [4], where the angles were calculated using D-InSAR only, and the results were of a low accuracy for serious decorrelation between SAR image pairs. The improvement in this paper is that the angles were calculated by D-InSAR and offset-tracking methods, and the whole mining subsidence basin could be generated.…”

“…The advance distance of influence (L1), a dynamic subsidence parameter, is defined as the horizontal distance between the mining position and the point at which the ground surface starts to move (defined as −10 mm) ahead of the mining direction. The advance angle of influence (ω) can be expressed as ω = arctan(H0/L1) [3,4]. These two parameters can be used to predict the range of mining subsidence so that action can be taken to prevent buildings from being damaged or other measures taken to control potential disasters.…”

Evaluation of the Use of Sub-Pixel Offset Tracking Techniques to Monitor Landslides in Densely Vegetated Steeply Sloped Areas

“…The differential Interferometric SAR (DInSAR), which is capable of detecting surface deformation over a large area in the direction of the satellite Line of Sight (LOS) with a centimetre-to-millimetre precision, has been extensively applied to monitor volcanic activities, earthquakes, mining deformations, glacier movement, subsidence and landslides [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Time series algorithms have…”

Investigation on Mining Subsidence Based on Multi-Temporal InSAR and Time-Series Analysis of the Small Baseline Subset—Case Study of Working Faces 22201-1/2 in Bu’ertai Mine, Shendong Coalfield, China

“…In the past 10 years, many scholars have monitored mining subsidence in selected mines using DInSAR and have conducted corresponding experimental research. Perski et al successfully measured ground settlement caused by underground mining using DInSAR [15][16][17][18][19][20]. Other scholars have successfully applied DInSAR to mining subsidence monitoring experiments, thereby confirming the feasibility of using DInSAR in large-scale mining subsidence monitoring and geological disaster assessment [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”