Utilizing Gaofen-3 InSAR time series to reveal land subsidence in Beijing (China)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Various applications have been achieved by Gaofen-3 images, while the time series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (TS-InSAR) analysis was rare due to the issues with baseline instability. In this study, we revealed that the primary artefacts degrading the quality of Gaofen-3 interferograms are the long spatial baselines and inaccuracy of orbit information induced by the lack of consideration of satellite orbital tube manoeuvres. To address these challenges, we have proposed an enhanced interferometry processing method aimed at isolating the main artefacts from wrapped interferograms and enhancing the interferometry capabilities of Gaofen-3 images. It mainly includes tips on estimating precise baselines based on orbital information and fringe frequency in the wrapped interferogram and refining the residual phase further by a quadratic polynomial regression model. Subsequently, the TS-InSAR analysis is successfully implemented to acquire high-accuracy land subsidence in Beijing during 2020–2021 based on these refined interferograms. This case study demonstrates the achievement of the land subsidence analysis through TS-InSAR with Gaofen-3 images, highlighting that our proposed method could enhance the quality of Gaofen-3 interferograms.