In Switzerland, more than 60% of the territory is mountainous, and this characteristic is a main natural resource attracting every year millions of tourists. However, this peculiarity exposes the country also to hazard potential due to the effect of different slope processes (e.g. deep seated gravitational deformations, rock avalanches, rock falls, debris flows, etc.). Moreover, the value of infrastructures and the strategic importance of transportation corridors present in Switzerland expose also neighboring countries to direct and indirect risks in case of catastrophic events. In this scenario, studying surface deformation may help understanding mountain processes, detecting preparatory conditions for potential failure events, and eventually planning countermeasures. Among EO methods, spaceborne radar interferometry has demonstrated great advantages to perform this task. Moreover, the recent advent of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 (S1) constellation has increased our capability to observe surface deformation over wide regions with higher revisit times. Here we present the results obtained by processing 107 images acquired from S1 constellation between April 20, 2015 and March 11, 2018. Differential interferograms were computed and combined taking advantage of the P-SBAS algorithm to obtain ground velocities and displacement time series at the country scale. We discuss the potential of such datasets in alpine countries such as Switzerland, as well the challenges for their thoughtful utilization.
Monitoring Surface Deformation in Alpine Regions at the Country-scale With Sentinel-1: First Results obtained With P-SBAS over Switzerland
Casu F;Zinno I;De Luca C;Manunta M;Manzo M;Lanari R
2018
Abstract
In Switzerland, more than 60% of the territory is mountainous, and this characteristic is a main natural resource attracting every year millions of tourists. However, this peculiarity exposes the country also to hazard potential due to the effect of different slope processes (e.g. deep seated gravitational deformations, rock avalanches, rock falls, debris flows, etc.). Moreover, the value of infrastructures and the strategic importance of transportation corridors present in Switzerland expose also neighboring countries to direct and indirect risks in case of catastrophic events. In this scenario, studying surface deformation may help understanding mountain processes, detecting preparatory conditions for potential failure events, and eventually planning countermeasures. Among EO methods, spaceborne radar interferometry has demonstrated great advantages to perform this task. Moreover, the recent advent of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 (S1) constellation has increased our capability to observe surface deformation over wide regions with higher revisit times. Here we present the results obtained by processing 107 images acquired from S1 constellation between April 20, 2015 and March 11, 2018. Differential interferograms were computed and combined taking advantage of the P-SBAS algorithm to obtain ground velocities and displacement time series at the country scale. We discuss the potential of such datasets in alpine countries such as Switzerland, as well the challenges for their thoughtful utilization.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
