Interferometric SAR Processing using Whole ALOS/PALSAR Data Archive for Measuring the Global Surface Deformation

In an area with the risk of natural disasters, sustainable monitoring of ground deformation is important. Space-borne Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) has been a key technology for global surface deformation monitoring. Japanese L-band SAR, ALOS/PALSAR acquired a huge amount of interferometric data during 2006-2011. To help to reveal the spatially detailed ground deformation on a continental scale, we have been producing interferograms using the full archive of the PALSAR data. So far, we have processed 450,000 interferograms in some primary regions of interest (i.e., the whole area of Japan, active fault regions of Southeast Asia and the Middle East). The derived interferograms can be used for the time series analysis to investigate the velocity or time series of the deformation with high accuracy. We are planning to make the products freely accessible through a website in the future.

Automated summary

Sustainable monitoring of ground deformation is crucial in areas prone to natural disasters. Space-borne Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology has been pivotal in global surface deformation monitoring. The Japanese L-band SAR, ALOS/PALSAR, has collected a significant amount of interferometric data which can be used for producing interferograms to study ground deformation on a continental scale. The derived interferograms can provide high accuracy in investigating the velocity and time series of deformation, and will be made freely accessible through a website in the future.