Tropospheric correction for InSAR using interpolated ECMWF data and GPS Zenith Total Delay from the Southern California Integrated GPS Network

Abstract

A tropospheric correction method for Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) was developed using profiles from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Zenith Total Delay (ZTD) from the Global Positioning System (GPS). The ECMWF data were interpolated into a finer grid with the Stretched Boundary Layer Model (SBLM) using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with a horizontal resolution of 1 arcsecond. The output were converted into ZTD and combined with the GPS ZTD in order to achieve tropospheric correction maps utilizing both the high spatial resolution of the SBLM and the high accuracy of the GPS. These maps were evaluated for three InSAR images, with short temporal baselines (implying no surface deformation), from Envisat during 2006 on an area stretching northeast from the Los Angeles basin towards Death Valley. The RMS in the InSAR images was greatly reduced, up to 32%, when using the tropospheric corrections. Two of the residuals showed a constant gradient over the area, suggesting a remaining orbit error. This error was reduced by reprocessing the troposphere corrected InSAR images with the result of an overall RMS reduction of 15 – 68%.