A seamless multitrack multitemporal InSAR algorithm

The zones of overlap between adjacent Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite tracks are illuminated twice more frequently than elsewhere in the SAR scene. Here, an alternative approach is presented to combine the overlapping segments of SAR images acquired at adjacent tracks and generate accurate and high spatiotemporal resolution map of the surface deformation field. To this end, a new approach is developed to unify the datums. Effects due to the difference in look angle between two overlapping tracks and atmospheric delay are estimated and removed using Kalman and wavelet-based filters. This approach is first tested at Hawaii Island, where tracks 200 and 429 of Envisat C-band satellite overlap over the Kilauea south flank. The obtained time series improves the temporal sampling rate by a factor of two and comparison with GPS time series demonstrates that the presented method accurately measures the nonlinear deformation field. The advantages of this method are further demonstrated by combining SAR data sets acquired by Envisat C-band and ALOS L-band satellites over the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The validation test shows that the seamless combination of C-band and L-band time series accurately measures the surface deformation at higher resolution.