Multi-scale Detection of Changing Cultural Landscapes in Nasca (Peru) Through ENVISAT ASAR and TerraSAR-X

Usefulness of archive C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and recently acquired X-band SAR data was explored in Nasca (Peru) for condition monitoring of cultural features threatened by various natural and anthropogenic hazards. Amplitude information from medium resolution ENVISAT ASAR IS2 time series (2003-2007) acquired along ascending and descending orbits was exploited to depict recent landscape changes. Beneficial impacts on temporal analysis of surface processes are discussed, also in light of the promising perspectives of high resolution SpotLight TerraSAR-X images for feature detection. The approach demonstrates its suitability for regional/local-scale applications.