Application of SAR Interferometry on DEM Generation of the Grove Mountains

Abstract

The Grove Mountains Area is situated to the southwest of Princess Elizabeth Land, the inland areas of east Antarctica. Adopting Landsat-4 TM images, a coloured satellite image map of Grove Mountains was produced and used to design an expedition route to Grove Mountains in 1998. In 2000, a field survey of the core area was completed with GPS and total station surveys. However, traditional mapping methods are no longer the most efficient means of obtaining topographic maps or DEM in large areas, especially those areas that are more inaccessible. Synthetic aperture radar interferometry has been proposed as a potential technique for digital elevation model (DEM) generation, topographic mapping, and surface motion detection. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the ERS-1/2 SAR tandem data on DEM generation of the Grove Mountains Core Area, and compares the DEM derived by INSAR with the DEM generated using field survey data. The paper confirms that INSAR is a very valuable technique to be utilized in Antarctica, and that INSAR can be employed to produce complementary field survey products.