InSAR analyses of terrain deformation near the Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland

Abstract

European Remote Sensing satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are used to analyze terrain deformation in the area of Wieliczka, Poland using interferometric techniques. Terrain deformations in Wieliczka are due to (i) salt mining, (ii) catastrophic suffusion caused by water inflows to the mine and (iii) landslides in the southern part of the region. To discriminate between different deformation regimes differential SAR Interferometry (D-InSAR) and persistent scatterers interferometry (PSI) are used. A comparison with published information based on leveling data is performed. It can be concluded that rapid subsidence caused by catastrophic water inflow cannot be identified with InSAR techniques. However, both D-InSAR and PSI retrieve information about slow subsidence due to mine convergence. These data match with subsidence maps constructed from leveling data. A limited amount of coherent scatterers were identified on landslides. Some scatterers can be related to buildings with clear damage caused by landslide movement.