Space-based surface change detection with differential Synthetic-Aperture Radar Interferometry: potentialities and preliminary investigations

The capability of measuring small crustal deformation by means of differential Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometry (DIFSAR) is investigated in this work. After outlining the mathematical background inherent to the principles of differential SAR interferometry and showing the potential and limits of the information content of spaceborne DIFSAR data, the analysis of the impact of this technique is carried out on some interferometric couples gathered in 1996 by the ERS-1/ERS-2 (European Remote Sensing Satellite) tandem mission. The imaged scene is a portion of the Sannio-Matese mountainous area (Southern Italy). Suitable interferometric couples are processed and analyzed in order to show potentialities of detecting surface deformation by means of DIFSAR data, and derive qualitative information on the relationship between DIFSAR-based change detection and the time scale of crustal dynamics, by investigating the effectiveness of the technique as a function of the scene coherence. Preliminary results confirm the feasibility of the technique, even at the cost of sophisticated processing and careful error analysis.