Deformation Monitoring of the Northern Sector of the Valencia Basin (E Spain) Using Ps-Insar (1993–2010)

Abstract

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) is a remote sensing technique very effective for the measurement of small displacements of the Earth's surface over large areas at a very low cost in comparison with conventional geodetic techniques. Advanced InSAR time series (Multi-Temporal InSAR or MT - InSAR) algorithms for monitoring and investigating surface displacement on Earth are based on conventional radar interferometry. These techniques allow us to measure deformation with uncertainties of one millimeter per year, interpreting time series of interferometric phases at coherent point scatterers (PS) without the need for human or special equipment presence. By applying InSAR processing techniques to a series of radar images over the same region, it is possible to monitor large areas and detect vertical displacements of ground, and infrastructures on the ground, and therefore identify abnormal or excessive movements indicating potential problems requiring detailed ground investigation. In this paper, we apply the PS- InSAR technique to a dataset of ERS-1/2 and Envisat radar images covering the period 1993–2010, to monitor the northern sector of the Valencia basin (Valencia city and its surroundings). Some subsiding areas were detected, with rates up to −5 mm/yr, whose causes are being investigated.