External Digital Elevation Model Research Articles

A Wavelet Decomposition and Polynomial Fitting-Based Method for the Estimation of Time-Varying Residual Motion Error in Airborne Interferometric SAR

Compensating the residual motion error (RME) is very important in airborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). In this paper, the wavelet decomposition and polynomial fitting-based (WDPF) method is proposed for detecting and correcting the RME. Wavelet decomposition with root-mean-square error (RMSE) change ratio-based decomposition scale identification is used to detect the RME from the differential interferogram. Polynomial fitting in combination with robust estimation-based least squares is used to absorb the incidence-angle-dependent and topography-dependent components of the RME. A simulated experiment was conducted to test the proposed WDPF method. High-precision RME (with an RMSE of 0.0375 rad) was obtained, which can meet the requirements of InSAR. Real-data L- and P-band InSAR experiments were also performed to test the WDPF method. The results confirmed that the WDPF method can effectively correct the RME for the interferogram. The RMSE of the estimated digital elevation model (DEM) was reduced from 8.03 to 3.46 m and 8.18 to 3.10 m for the L- and P-band interferograms, respectively. Finally, the effects of the external DEM error and polarization on the RME calibration were investigated. The results indicated that the global InSAR DEM products can fulfill the requirement of differential interferogram generation for the WDPF method, and the multipolarization interferograms can help to reduce the effect of the topographic error phase on RME estimation.

Effects of External Digital Elevation Model Inaccuracy on StaMPS-PS Processing: A Case Study in Shenzhen, China

External Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) with different resolutions and accuracies cause different topographic residuals in differential interferograms of Multi-temporal InSAR (MTInSAR), especially for the phase-based StaMPS-PS. The PS selection and deformation parameter estimation of StaMPS-PS are closely related to the spatially uncorrected error, which is directly affected by external DEMs. However, it is still far from clear how the high resolution and accurate external DEM affects the results of the StaMPS-PS (e.g., PS selection and deformation parameter calculation) on different platforms (X band TerraSAR, C band ENVISAT ASAR and L band ALOS/PALSAR1). In this study, abundant synthetic tests are performed to assess the influences of external DEMs on parameter estimations, such as the mean deformation rate and the deformation time-series. Real SAR images, covering Shenzhen city in China, are also selected to analyze the PS selection and distribution as well as to validate the results of synthetic tests. The results show that the PS points selected by the 5 m TanDEM-X DEM are 10.32%, 4.25% and 0.34% more than those selected by the 30 m SRTM DEM at X, C and L bands SAR platforms, respectively, when a multi-look geocoding operation is adopted for X band in the SRTM DEM case. We also find that the influences of external DEMs on the mean deformation rate are not significant and are inversely proportional to the wavelength of the satellite platforms. The standard deviations of the mean deformation rate difference for the X, C and L bands are 0.54, 0.30 and 0.10 mm/year, respectively. Similarly, the influences of external DEMs on the deformation time-series estimation for the three platforms are also slight, except for local artifacts whose root-mean-square error (RMSE) ≥ 6 mm. Based on these analyses, some implications and suggestions for external DEMs on StaMPS-PS processing are discussed and provided.

Effect of external digital elevation model on monitoring of mine subsidence by two-pass differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar

The external digital elevation model (DEM) error is one of the main factors that affect the accuracy of mine subsidence monitored by two-pass differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR), which has been widely used in monitoring mining-induced subsidence. The theoretical relationship between external DEM error and monitored deformation error is derived based on the principles of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) and two-pass DInSAR. Taking the Dongtan and Yangcun mine areas of Jining as test areas, the difference and accuracy of 1:50000, ASTER GDEM V2, and SRTM DEMs are compared and analyzed. Two interferometric pairs of Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array L-band SAR covering the test areas are processed using two-pass DInSAR with three external DEMs to compare and analyze the effect of three external DEMs on monitored mine subsidence in high- and low-coherence subsidence regions. Moreover, the reliability and accuracy of the three DInSAR-monitored results are compared and verified with leveling-measured subsidence values. Results show that the effect of external DEM on mine subsidence monitored by two-pass DInSAR is not only related to radar look angle, perpendicular baseline, slant range, and external DEM error, but also to the ground resolution of DEM, the magnitude of subsidence, and the coherence of test areas.

The Influence of External Digital Elevation Models on PS-InSAR and SBAS Results: Implications for the Analysis of Deformation Signals Caused by Slow Moving Landslides in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

Advanced interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) postprocessing, like persistent scatterer InSAR (PS-InSAR), offers the possibility to investigate slow moving landslides, where standard interferometry is problematic. These advanced algorithms involve the analysis of a series of SAR acquisitions in both time and space. One input that requires particular attention for landslide applications is the external digital elevation model (DEM) that is used to correct the interferograms for the topographic phase term. When multiple elevation data sets are available for a given study area, it is difficult to decide which one should be used. In this paper, we test the sensitivity of PS-InSAR/Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) results to different DEMs. The study area is located in the Northern Apennines of Italy, where chaotic clay shales and fine-grained flysch host slow-moving earth flows and ancient rock slides. $C$ -band (Envisat) and $X$ -band (Cosmo-SkyMed) data are processed with different DEMs. We describe a simple framework to statistically analyze the influence of these models on the final PS-InSAR/SBAS results. We find that individual interferograms do not vary much depending on the DEM, while the results from PS-InSAR and SBAS analysis do vary. This is likely caused by the way the DEM error is estimated. We find also that the quality of the DEM is more important than the resolution and that $X$ -band InSAR data are more sensitive to the choice of the DEM than $C$ -band. The significance of the results is discussed with reference to two landslide areas.

A Simple Solution for the Phase Offset Estimation of Airborne SAR Interferograms Without Using Corner Reflectors

We present a solution for simplifying a recently proposed two-step processing technique that allows to retrieve the constant phase offset present in the unwrapped synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferograms by exploiting an external, even low-accuracy, digital elevation model (DEM) of the illuminated area and without using corner reflectors. In particular, we show in this letter that the second processing step, namely, the slope-topography-based estimate, can be avoided without impairing the accuracy of the final phase offset estimate. To this aim, we introduce a simple modification to the first step, referred to as phase-based estimate, by considering the vertical bias of the available external DEM as the second unknown parameter in the carried out estimation. The simplified algorithm is very easy to implement and is particularly suitable for airborne SAR interferometry. It has been tested on real airborne SAR data and the obtained results show that the achieved accuracy is the same or better than that achieved through the original two-step approach.

On the Accuracy of Topographic Residuals Retrieved by MTInSAR

Topographic residuals in differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements are mainly caused by inaccurate external digital elevation model (DEM). Accurate separation of the phase component contributed by topographic residuals plays an important role in the retrieval of deformation time series from InSAR observations. Even though the residuals can be modeled and estimated in the framework of multitemporal SAR interferometry (MTInSAR), it is not clear what an optimal processing strategy is and how accurate the estimation can reach. We analyze here the factors that affect the accuracy of the retrieved DEM residuals by applying four commonly used MTInSAR methods in a series of simulated scenarios. The results indicate that besides the quality of interferometric observations, the thresholds of spatial and temporal baselines, the diversity of spatial baseline lengths, the connectivity of interferogram network, and improper deformation model also fluctuate the accuracy of the retrieved topographic residuals. According to these affecting factors, this paper sheds light on an optimal approach to reliably retrieve accurate topographic residuals under MTInSAR framework.

A METHOD FOR THE EXTRACTION OF LONG-TERM DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS OF LONG-SPAN HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY BRIDGES USING HIGH-RESOLUTION SAR IMAGES

Natural causes and high-speed train load will result in the structural deformation of long-span bridges, which greatly influence the safety operation of high-speed railway. Hence it is necessary to conduct the deformation monitoring and regular status assessment for long-span bridges. However for some traditional surveying technique, e.g. control-point-based surveying techniques, a lot of human and material resources are needed to perform the long-term monitoring for the whole bridge. In this study we detected the long-term bridge deformation time-series by persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (PSInSAR) technique using the high-resolution SAR images and external digital elevation model. A test area in Nanjing city in China is chosen and TerraSAR-X images and Tandem-X for this area have been used. There is the Dashengguan bridge in high speed railway in this area as study object to evaluate this method. Experiment results indicate that the proposed method can effectively extract the long-term deformation of long-span high-speed railway bridge with higher accuracy.

A METHOD FOR THE EXTRACTION OF LONG-TERM DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS OF LONG-SPAN HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY BRIDGES USING HIGH-RESOLUTION SAR IMAGES

Abstract. Natural causes and high-speed train load will result in the structural deformation of long-span bridges, which greatly influence the safety operation of high-speed railway. Hence it is necessary to conduct the deformation monitoring and regular status assessment for long-span bridges. However for some traditional surveying technique, e.g. control-point-based surveying techniques, a lot of human and material resources are needed to perform the long-term monitoring for the whole bridge. In this study we detected the long-term bridge deformation time-series by persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (PSInSAR) technique using the high-resolution SAR images and external digital elevation model. A test area in Nanjing city in China is chosen and TerraSAR-X images and Tandem-X for this area have been used. There is the Dashengguan bridge in high speed railway in this area as study object to evaluate this method. Experiment results indicate that the proposed method can effectively extract the long-term deformation of long-span high-speed railway bridge with higher accuracy.

ASSESSMENT OF REFERENCE HEIGHT MODELS ON QUALITY OF TANDEM-X DEM

Abstract. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of various Global Digital Elevation Models (GDEMs) in producing high-resolution topography model using TanDEM-X (TDX) Coregistered Single Look Slant Range Complex (CoSSC) images. We selected an image acquired on Jun 12th, 2012 over Doroud region in Lorestan, west of Iran and used 4 external digital elevation models in our processing including DLR/ASI X-SAR DEM (SRTM-X, 30m resolution), ASTER GDEM Version 2 (ASTER-GDEMV2, 30m resolution), NASA SRTM Version 4 (SRTM-V4, 90m resolution), and a local photogrammetry-based DEM prepared by National Cartographic Center (NCC DEM, 10m resolution) of Iran. InSAR procedure for DEM generation was repeated four times with each of the four external height references. The quality of each external DEM was initially assessed using ICESat filtered points. Then, the quality of, each TDX-based DEM was assessed using the more precise external DEM selected in the previous step. Results showed that both local (NCC) DEM and SRTM X-band performed the best (RMSE< 9m) for TDX-DEM generation. In contrast, ASTER GDEM v2 and SRTM C-band v4 showed poorer quality.

Soil moisture change detection model for slightly rough surface based on interferometric phase

We propose a model for soil moisture change detection using phase information of synthetic aperture radar data. It is expected to be applied for drought monitoring over grasslands in north China. This model is developed from the coherent scattering model, which was originally studied for random oriented volume over ground scattering. Compared to the conventional water content estimation methods employing amplitude information, the methods based on phase information have advantages over change detection. In particular, the phases caused by topography can be removed by the use of external digital elevation model data with high accuracy. Simulations are presented to show the phase sensitivity on soil moisture variations, as well as soil moisture changes that can be feasibly inverted under different conditions of system phase accuracy and incidence angle. Then the inversion scheme is given on the basis of the proposed model. Finally, a relevant experiment in the anechoic chamber was implemented, in which good agreement is achieved between the model computations and the measurements. The results are discussed considering the practical limitations of potential applications.

Modified four-pass differential SAR interferometry for estimating mountain glacier surface velocity fields

ABSTRACTConventional four-pass differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) assumes that there are no significant changes in the ground during the period between the acquisition times of SAR images for topographic DInSAR pairs. This assumption can rarely be satisfied for glacial areas due to their continuous movement. This letter proposes a modified four-pass DInSAR method without an external digital elevation model (DEM), taking into account glacier movement between the acquisition times of SAR images used to form topographic DInSAR pairs. An explicit expression of theoretical formulas for a modified four-pass DInSAR technique was derived for the first time, revealing that four-pass DInSAR considering ground movement of topographic pairs was equivalent to that of conventional four-pass DInSAR with a spatially varying nominal wavelength. Then the proposed method was tested with four Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) SAR images covering Dongkemadi glacier located on the Tibetan Plateau, China. An experiment with real data showed that the proposed method could obtain glacial flow patterns efficiently, and that the difference between two-pass DInSAR and the proposed method is a result of DEM bias and glacial thinning. The approach presented in this letter proved to be appropriate for monitoring glacial motion and provides a valuable tool for glacier studies, without the need of an external DEM.

Topography Correction for Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar

Airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an essential tool for modern remote sensing applications. The motion compensation (MOCO) in SAR processing is usually carried out by assuming a reference level to compute the range displacements and phase corrections to apply to each received echo. This means that phase histories of targets at heights different from the reference level cannot be matched accurately, which might yield several effects in the final compressed image. Topography correction for airborne SAR accommodates topography variations during SAR data processing, using an external digital elevation model (DEM). The aperture-dependent MOCO is compensation the phase error of all targets before azimuth compression, resulting in an enhanced image quality. In this paper, analysis the effect of topography variations in focused image (after range and azimuth compression). Then presented an efficient way to use the information given by an external DEM to take into account the motion of the aircraft along the whole synthetic aperture is presented. Finally, real simulated-data experiments show that the proposed approach is appropriate for highly precise imaging of airborne SAR.

Phase Offset Calculation for Airborne InSAR DEM Generation Without Corner Reflectors

Digital elevation model (DEM) generation through interferometric processing of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data requires the calculation of a constant phase offset present in the unwrapped interferograms. This operation is usually carried out by exploiting the external information provided by GPS measurements in correspondence of corner reflectors (CRs) properly deployed over the illuminated area. This is, however, expensive in terms of cost and time. Moreover, deployment of CRs along with the corresponding in situ GPS measurements can be difficult (if not impossible) in unfriendly areas or in natural disaster scenarios. To circumvent these limitations, we address in this work the estimation of the required phase offset by exploiting a low-accuracy external DEM, without using CRs. More specifically, a two-step approach is proposed. The first step exploits the synthetic phase computed by means of the external DEM and represents a straightforward extension of the procedure that is usually applied in the presence of CRs. Subsequently, in order to refine the achieved solution, a second step is introduced. It is based on a least squares approach that properly exploits the difference between the available low-accuracy DEM and the interferometric DEM generated by means of the phase offset value roughly estimated through the first step. The presented approach is very easy to implement and allows us to achieve an accurate and fast estimate of the needed phase offset, even in the presence of an external DEM affected by a vertical bias and/or a planar shift. The algorithm performances improve in the presence of a large variation of the look angle, as it generally happens in airborne systems. On the other side, the effectiveness of the algorithm may be impaired by the possible presence of artifacts in the unwrapped interferograms, such as those due to the residual motion errors typical of repeat-pass airborne SAR scenarios. Accordingly, the proposed solution is particularly suitable for single-pass interferometric airborne SAR systems, as demonstrated through the presented experimental results achieved on real data.

DEM Construction using DInSAR

Abstract. A digital elevation model (DEM) is a 3D visualization of a terrain surface. It can be used in various analytical studies such as topographic feature extraction, hydrology, geomorphology and landslides analysis etc. Uttrakhand region is affected with landslides, earthquake and flash flood phenomenon. Hence this study was focused on DEM generation using Differential SAR Interferometry (DINSAR) on ALOS PALSAR dataset. Two Pass DINSAR technique involves one interferometric pair in addition with an external DEM. The external DEM was used as a reference to reduce topographic errors. The data processing steps were image co-registration, interferogram generation, interferogram flattening (Differential Interferogram), interferogram filtering, coherence map, phase unwrapping, orbital refinement and re-flattening and DEM generation. Interferogram fringes observed in forest areas were due to temporal decorrelation and the fringes in mountain regions were obtained due to topography changes (may be due to landslides in rainy season). The range of elevation in generated DEM were 132 m to 2823 m and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) error was 36.765159 m. The generated DEM was compared with ASTER DEM and variation in height was analyzed. Atmospheric effects were not removed due to geometrical and temporal decorrelation which affect the accuracy.

Motion compensation using substrip PGA

MOtion COmpensation (MOCO) is an essential step in high resolution airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging. Generally, a reference altitude level is assumed and external Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is required for the scene topography heavily varied. To overcome the shortcoming, we propose a MOCO method based on Phase Gradient Autofocus (PGA) which can obtain well focused images without DEM. In the implementation, we first compensate the normal range-invariant term. Then the data are divided into strips in range-compressed domain and PGA is applied to each substrip to extract the phase errors. Finally, the phase error surface is obtained using interpolation and then compensated. Real airborne SAR data of a UAV-SAR system experiments and comparisons demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The results show that our algorithm is effective.

Detecting Subsidence in Coastal Areas by Ultrashort-Baseline TCPInSAR on the Time Series of High-Resolution TerraSAR-X Images

In this paper, we present an improved approach of the multitemporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) for detecting land subsidence in coastal areas by using the time series of high-resolution SAR images. In particular, our algorithm extends the capability of the temporarily coherent point InSAR (TCPInSAR) technique that can be used to detect subsidence even in the case of a small number of SAR images available for a study area. The proposed approach is implemented by using the interferograms with ultrashort spatial baselines (USBs) through several procedures, including the selection of USB interferometric pairs, TCP identification, TCP networking and modeling, as well as TCP solution by a least squares estimator. As the topographic effects in coastal areas are negligible in the USB interferograms, an external digital elevation model is no longer necessary for differential processing, thus simplifying both TCP modeling and parameter estimating. The USB-based TCPInSAR algorithm has been tested with the high-resolution TerraSAR-X images acquired over Tianjin (close to Bohai Bay) in China, and validated by using the ground-based leveling measurements. The testing results indicate that the density and coverage extent of TCPs can be increased dramatically by using the proposed algorithm, and the quality of subsidence measurements derived by the USB-based TCPInSAR can be raised.

Topographic correction of ALOS-PALSAR images using InSAR-derived DEM

Topographic corrections of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images over hilly regions are vital for retrieval of correct backscatter values associated with natural targets. The coarse resolution external digital elevation models (DEM) available for topographic corrections of high resolution SAR images often result into degradation of spatial resolution or improper estimation of backscatter values in SAR images. Also, many a times the external DEMs do not spatially co-register well with the SAR data. The present study showcases the methodology and results of topographic correction of ALOS-PALSAR image using high resolution DEM generated from the same data. High resolution DEMs of Jaipur region, India were generated using multiple pair SAR images acquired from ALOS-PALSAR using interferometric (InSAR) techniques. The DEMs were validated using differential global positioning system measured elevation values as ground control points and were compared with photogrammetric DEM (advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer – ASTER) and SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) DEM. It was observed that ALOS-PALSAR images with optimum baseline parameters produced high resolution DEM with better height accuracy. Finally, the validated DEM was used for topographic correction of ALOS-PALSAR images of the same region and were found to produce better result as compared with ASTER and SRTM-DEM.

Detecting Subsidence Along a High Speed Railway by Ultrashort Baseline TCP-InSAR with High Resolution Images

Abstract. A High Speed Railway goes across Wuqing district of Tianjin, China. Historical studies showed that the land subsidence of this area was very serious, which would give rise to huge security risk to the high speed railway. For detecting the detailed subsidence related to the high speed railway, we use the multi-temporal InSAR (MT-InSAR) technique to extract regional scale subsidence of Wuqing district. Take it into consideration that Wuqing district is a suburban region with large area of low coherence farmland, we select the temporarily coherent point InSAR (TCP-InSAR) approach for MT-InSAR analysis. The TCP-InSAR is a potential approach for detecting land subsidence in low coherence areas as it can identify and analysis coherent points between just two images and can acquire a reliable solution without conventional phase unwrapping. This paper extended the TCP-InSAR with use of ultrashort spatial baseline (USB) interferograms. As thetopographic effects are negligible in the USB interferograms, an external digital elevation model (DEM) is no longer needed in interferometric processing, and the parameters needed to be estimated were simplified at the same time. With use of 17 TerraSAR-X (TSX) images acquired from 2009 to 2010 over Wuqing district, the annual subsidence rates along the high speed railway were derived by the USB-TCPInSAR approach. Two subsidence funnels were found at ShuangJie town and around Wuqing Station with subsidence rate of −17 ∼ −27 mm/year and −7 ∼ −17 mm/year, respectively. The subsidence rates derived by USB-TCPInSAR were compared with those derived by the conventional TCP-InSAR that uses an external DEM for differential interferometry. The mean and the standard deviation of the differences between two types of results at 370697 TCPs are −4.43 × 10−6 mm/year and ±1.4673 mm/year, respectively. Further comparison with the subsidence results mentioned in several other studies were made, which shows good consistencies. The results verify that even without using a DEM the USB-TCPInSAR method can detect land subsidence accurately in flat areas.

ULTRASHORT-BASELINE PERSISTENT SCATTERER RADAR INTERFEROMETRY FOR SUBSIDENCE DETECTION

Abstract. This paper presents an improved approach of multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) for detecting land subsidence phenomena by using time series of high resolution SAR images. Our algorithm extends the capability of the temporarily coherent point (TCP) InSAR technique proposed previously to detect subsidence even in the case of a small number of SAR images available for a study area. The approach proposed in this paper is implemented by using the interferograms with ultrashort spatial baselines (USB) through several procedures, including selection of USB interferometric pairs, TCP identification, TCP networking and modeling, as well as TCP solution. As the topographic effects are negligible in the USB interferograms, an external digital elevation model is no longer necessary for differential processing, thus simplifying both TCP modeling and parameter estimating. The algorithm has been tested with the high resolution TerraSAR-X (TSX) images acquired over Tianjin (China), and validated by using the ground-based leveling measurements. The testing results indicate that the density and coverage extent of TCPs can be increased dramatically, and the quality of subsidence measurements derived by the USB-based TCPInSAR can be raised.

Topography Mapping With a Portable Real-Aperture Radar Interferometer

In this letter, the requirements to derive topography from a portable terrestrial radar interferometer are introduced, the instrument design and the relationship between interferometric phase shift and surface topography are explained, and two examples of topographic maps from measurements at the Rhone glacier and Grabengufer rock glacier in Switzerland are presented. In the first case, an external digital elevation model was used to assess the error of topography mapping with the portable radar interferometer and to analyze ice surface changes of the glacier in the last 14 years. We found that the height error standard deviation is about 3 m within a distance of 2 km from the sensor and observed massive thinning of the Rhone glacier. In the second case, we used the terrestrial radar interferometer in order to measure the height difference between August 2009 and March 2010 over the rock glacier as a consequence of its destabilization.