ITR: Post-Processing Strategies for Radar Differential Interferometry

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

EAR-0219293 Sean M. Buckley Satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) provides earth-surface deformation measurements at finer resolution and greater spatial coverage than any other traditional geodetic technique and has quickly developed into a critical tool for measurement of deformation associated with natural and anthropogenic hazards. The routine production of InSAR measurements is a consequence of the general availability of InSAR processing software with each package producing the same general final product - the differential interferogram. Although recent InSAR research has considered the ensemble use of tens of interferograms to reveal complex and subtle surface deformation, a post-processing software package is not readily available to the InSAR geoscience community. This project involves the research and development of an InSAR post-processing software toolkit employing three general strategies missing from current InSAR software: mosaicking of multiple satellite tracks for complete surface displacement measurement, interferogram stacking for noise reduction, and InSAR time-series analysis for measurement of continuous, non-uniform deformation. The software is modular, coded in C and Fortran, called from a series of Unix-based shell scripts and developed generally independent of the InSAR software used to generate the differential interferograms. Where processor-specific information is required, the software is integrated with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory ROI_PAC software package. Distribution of the post-processing toolkit is through a GNU General Public License.