Who are we?

Project Details

  • Name: Sentinel-1 INSAR Performance Study with TOPS Data
  • Acronym: InSARap
  • Kick-Off: March 2014
  • Project extension: April 2016
  • Project duration: 18 months + 18 months
  • Project related web-sites:

Project Consortium

The objective of the ESA’s SEOM Programme InSARap project is the scientific exploitation and validation of the interferometric TOPS mode implemented on the Sentinel-1 mission. The extremely interesting and challenging questions were a perfect match for the partners involved in this consortium, both on short and long term. And based on this interest, a consortium was formed and bid for this tender. Specifically, the consortium includes the following partners:

Anticipated results:

  • Confirm and document Sentinel-1 interferometric performance.
  • Assess the synergy between Sentinel-1 and previous C-band SAR missions.
  • Adapt already successful DINSAR and PSI techniques to TOPS SAR data.
  • Provide the scientific community with the first DINSAR and PSI results over selected pilot sites.

Some of Our Recent...

Results & Updates

Interferometry results derived from processing standard products generated from the data acquisitions of the Sentinel-1 mission from the European Union Copernicus programme.

Bay Area Mapped by Sentinel-1

November 2016

Background & Scope

A team of researchers, within a scope of ESA - SEOM InSARap project performed an interferometric time series analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 data which higlighted and confirmed some of the previously reported findings of subsidence in the area.

For example widely reported sinking of the Millennium Tower, subsidence due to reclamed land, Hayward Fault to outline the few were sucessfully observed. While the results speak for themselves, we can just once more reiterate on the usefulness of the Copernicus Programme, in this case for deformation monitoring applications.

Further Information

For more details, background and context, preliminary results interpretation, and high-resolution images, please refer to the ESA WebStory:

Results in Media

In adition to the ESA WebStory, our results were also prominently featured, and generated lots of interest in the mainstream media, and by public in general. Here were a listing only few reports, that in our opinionon have generated the highest impact:

Analysis Summary

Data overview:
  • Sentinel-1 A IW mode
  • Observation window February 2015 - September 2016
  • Data download via Scientific Data Hub
Processing overview:
  • Time series analysis perfromed with: Persistent Scatterer InSAR methodology

Absence of Warranty

The analysis and results of the Bay Area were obtained within a scope of the scientific, and research and development projects, and are provided without any express or implied warranty, including as regards quality and suitability for any purpose.

Data & Results Terms and Conditions

All Sentinel-1 results that are available for download are Derived Works of Copernicus data (2015-2016), subject to the following use conditions: "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SENTINEL DATA AND SERVICE INFORMATION".

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    Bay Area mapped by S-1

    California, USA

    • Central Italy Earthquakes: Sentinel-1A/B InSAR analysis

    August/October 2016

    Results Description: 'AMATRICE' Quake

    A 6.2M earthquake hit Central Italy, the area of city of Amatrice, on 24 August 2016. The quake epicentre was southeast of Norcia, Italy, in an area near the borders of the Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo and Marche regions. The quake hypocentre was at a depth of approximately 5 km. At least 290 people have been killed, and dozens more are still accounted missing.

    InSAR

    We computed a set of coseismic Sentinel-1A/B interferograms, over the affected area.

    • Descending track 95: S1A (2016-08-26) / S1A (2016-08-14)
    • Descending track 22: S1A (2016-08-21) / S1B (2016-08-27)
    • Ascending track 117: S1B (2016-08-21) / S1A (2016-08-27)
    Earthquake Motion Decomposition

    We also performed the two-dimensional earthquake motion decomposition. As an input for the decomposition, data of tracks 22 descending and 117 ascending were used, since they provide the full coverage of the earthquake.

    Download section

    Descending Interferogram, Track 95:
    Descending Interferogram, Track 22:
    Ascending Interferogram, Track 117:
    Decomposed Solution

    Additional Information

    KMZ and GeoTiff files that are available for download, are generated for high-resolution investigations in GoogleEarth and post-processing & interpretation. They are not prepared for overviews, and thus are not heavily smoothed nor filtered.

    Acknowledgment

    We thank ESA's Geohazards Thematic Exploitation Platform for prompt dissemination of Sentinel-1B data.

    Credit

    Cite results as: "Petar Marinkovic and Yngvar Larsen, (2016). Mapping and analysis of the Central Italy Earthquake (2016) with Sentinel-1 A/B interferometry. Zenodo, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.61133.

    Results Description: 'VISSO' Quakes

    Central Italy was hit by two powerful earthquakes (M5.5 and M6.1) just two hours apart on the night of October 26, 2016. Mountain villages suffered extensive damage and the town of Ussita being completely "flattened". The epicentre of both earthquakes was near the town of Visso in the central Marche region, close to where nearly 300 people were killed by a devastating quake in August (see the section above).

    InSAR

    We computed a set of coseismic Sentinel-1A/B interferograms, over the affected area.

    • Ascending track 117: 2016-10-27 / 2016-10-15
    • Ascending track 117: 2016-11-01 / 2016-10-26
    • Ascending track 44: 2016-11-02 / 2016-10-27
    • Descending track 22: 2016-11-01 / 2016-10-26

    Download section

    Ascending Interferogram, Track 117 (27-Oct / 15-Oct):
    Ascending Interferogram, Track 117 (01-Nov / 26-Oct):
    Ascending Interferogram, Track 44 (01-Nov / 27-Oct):
    Descending Interferogram, Track 22 (01-Nov / 26-Oct):

    Data & Results Terms and Conditions

    All Sentinel-1 results that are available for download are Derived Works of Copernicus data (2016), subject to the following use conditions: "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SENTINEL DATA AND SERVICE INFORMATION".

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    Central Italy Quake mapped by S-1A/B

    Amatrice, Italy

    • Beijing subsidence mapped by Sentinel-1

    July 2016

    Results Description

    Recent reports from scientific and mainstream media have indicated that the city of Beijing, together with its surroundings, is subsiding at fast and alarming rate as result of the overexploitation of groundwater. The depletion of groundwater causes underlying soil to compact, creating a phenomenon called subsidence. The Beijing region has been experiencing this phenomenon since 1935, but in last years the rate of sinking has significantly increased.

    A team of researchers, within ESA sponsored, SEOM InSARap project performed an interferometric analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 data which confirms the reported findings also with current data. While the results speak for themselves, we can just once more reiterate on the usefulness of the Copernicus Programme, in this case for deformation monitoring applications.

    Analysis Summary

    Data overview:
    • Sentinel-1 IW
    • Track 47 descending
    • Observation window December 2014 - June 2016
    • Data download via Scientific Data Hub
    Processing overview:

    Download section

    Displacement of Beijing observed by Sentinel-1

    Data & Results Terms and Conditions

    Cite results as: "Petar Marinkovic and Yngvar Larsen, (2016). Subsidence of Beijing (China) mapped by Copernicus Sentinel-1 time series interferometry. Zenodo, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5767.

    All Sentinel-1 results that are available for download are Derived Works of Copernicus data (2014-2016), subject to the following use conditions: "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SENTINEL DATA AND SERVICE INFORMATION".

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    Beijing subsidence mapped by S-1

    China, Asia

    • Kumamoto Earthquake: Sentinel-1 InSAR results

    April 2016

    Results Description

    The 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes are a series of earthquakes beneath Kumamoto City, Japan. The mainshock at magnitude 7.0 occurred on April 16, 2016, depth about 10 kilometres, and a foreshock earthquake which preceded it with a magnitude 6.2 on April 14, 2016, depth about 11 kilometres.

    We computed a set of coseismic Sentinel-1A interferograms, over the affected area.

    • Ascending track 156: 2016-04-08 / 2016-04-20, Perp. baseline -67.3m
    • Descending track 163: 2016-03-27 / 2016-04-20, Perp. baseline -0.1m

    Download section

    Ascending Interferogram, Track 156:
    Descending Interferogram, Track 163:
    Additional Information

    KMZ and GeoTiff files that are available for download, are generated for high-resolution investigations in GoogleEarth and post-processing & interpretation. They are not prepared for overviews, and thus are not heavily smoothed nor filtered.

    Data & Results Terms and Conditions

    All Sentinel-1 results that are available for download are Derived Works of Copernicus data (2016), subject to the following use conditions: "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SENTINEL DATA AND SERVICE INFORMATION".

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    Kumamoto Quakes captured by S-1

    Japan, Asia

    • Chile Earthquake: Sentinel-1 InSAR analysis

    September 2015

    Results Description

    On September 16, 2015, an earthquake of magnitude 8.3 occurred in Chile and lasting three minutes. The earthquake occurred on thrust faults along the boundary of the Nazca and South African plates.

    We computed a coseismic descending (24.08 - 17.09.2015) and ascending (26.08 - 19.09.2015) Sentinel-1 interferograms, over the affected area. The perpendicular baseline of the descending pair is 123 m and of ascending one 80 m.

    Initial Interpretation

    Our initial interpretation by a manual by-eye fringe count of the descending interferogram indicated about 140 cm Line-of-Sight displacement. While study of the phase difference in the burst overlaps of the same interferogram indicated approximately 50 cm of horizontal (alongtrack) motion. At later stage we also performed comparison of descending and ascending interferograms. The burst overlap phase has equal magnitudes and signs in both tracks and the standard Line-of-Sight phase has almost equal magnitudes and opposite signs. This, suggests a pure westwards horizontal component, and a small vertical component (if any).

    Refined Interpretation

    We also computed a decomposed solution that is also available for download. We performed a decomposition in the East-West/vertical plane assuming no North-South component, as indicated by the burst overlap signs and magnitudes. The East-West component, scales from [-210,210] cm, positive red towards west, see relevant KMZ file in the download section. The Vertical component, in order to avoid enhancing the atmospheric residues, is scaled to [-30,30] cm. The positive (red) downwards. Extreme values, see relevant KMZ file, are about -15 cm (blue), and 18 cm (red), respectively. Note that atmosphere and a few unwrapping errors show clearly through this result due to the reduced dynamic range (atmospheric noise level is a couple of fringes at least).

    Download section

    Descending 24.08-17.09 2015 Interferogram:
    Ascending 26.08-19.09 2015 Interferogram:
    Decomposed solution:
    Additional Information

    KMZ and GeoTiff files that are available for download, are generated for high-resolution investigations in GoogleEarth and post-processing & interpretation. They are not prepared for overviews, and thus are not heavily smoothed nor filtered.

    Data & Results Terms and Conditions

    All Sentinel-1 results that are available for download are Derived Works of Copernicus data (2015), subject to the following use conditions: "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SENTINEL DATA".

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    Chile Quake captured by S-1

    Chile, South America

    • Nepal Earthquake: Sentinel-1 InSAR analysis

    April 2015

    Results Description

    On the 25th of April 2015, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 occurred in Nepal as the result of thrust faulting on, or near, the main frontal thrust between the sub-ducting India plate and the overriding Eurasia plate to the north. Please check the USGS web page for the latest official information.

    This section of the insarap.org page is meant to be a collection of Sentinel-1 related interferometric information, results & visualizations for the research community.

    Presently a number of coseismic and preseismic interferogram are available for download. However, as soon as data for more coseismic interferograms is acquired and made available on the Sentinel-1 Scientific Data hub, we will make these coseismic results available for download in KMZ and/or GeoTiff format.

    Coseismic Interferograms

    A number of coseismic interferograms are available for download.

    The interferogram from 02.Apr - 26.Apr (ascending), is in the far northwestern part of the affected area. It is hard to to tell if this interferogram captures the outskirts of the earthquake butterfly, or if it is only atmospheric disturbances affecting the signal. Nevertheless we believe that these are very likely coseismic fringes.

    Download links:
      02.Apr - 26.Apr

    These interferograms are on the edges of the affected area and likely do not contain any significant displacement signal.

    Download links:

    This interferogram is over the main slip, and it clearly visualizes the displacement signal. It is approximately 34 fringes or 1 meter line-of-sight displacement. Also a preliminary version an unwrapped interferogram is available for download. Notice that in the area where the strong motion in the radar azimuth direction is predicted, burst jumps can be observed. This has been confirmed by the study of the burst overlap zones, see the relevant KMZ file. Recently results of offset/speckle tracking in azimuth and range direction are added. Also a file containing Line of Sight and other geometry information, needed for the geophysical modeling, is available for download.

    Download links:

    For this interferograms number of visualization options are available, as well as GeoTiff of wrapped and unwrapped phase (flat binary, containing only phase information):

    This interferogram covers the earthquake area well, but unfortunately it is incoherent in the interesting area. Note that with advanced filtering methods better results might be obtained - link to tweet and results of Pablo J. Gonzales and COMET team..

    Download links:

    In this interferogram the northeastern wing of the butterfly is clearer, but in overall not much coherence. Note that by studying burst overlaps a horizontal motion is observed.

    Download links:

    Preseismic Interferograms

    A number of preseismic interferometric combinations were also processed and made available for download. These when coupled with initial model of GeoGateway or USGS Impact Shakemap, that are based on a USGS modeling mechanisms, give a very good idea of where can we expect coherent input to the geophysical modeling.

    Download links:
      24.Mar - 05.Apr
    Download links:
      24.Mar - 17.Apr
    Download links:
      31.Mar - 24.Apr
    Download links:
      05.Apr - 17.Apr

    Additional Information

    KMZ and GeoTiff files that are available for download, are generated for the full resolution investigations in GoogleEarth and post-processing & interpretation. They are not prepared for overviews, and thus are not heavily smoothed nor filtered.

    Data & Results Terms and Conditions

    All Sentinel-1 results that are available for download are Derived Works of Copernicus data (2015), subject to the following use conditions: "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SENTINEL DATA".

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    Himalayan Earthquake: Coseismic results

    Nepal, Asia

    • Calbuco Volcano Eruption observed by Sentinel-1

    April 2015

    Results Description

    On 22nd April Calbuco volcano, Chile, erupted for the first time in four decades with a very little warning. The eruption lasted 90 minutes and sent a plume of volcanic ash 10 km into the sky. A flow of lava was reported into Chapo Lake on the same day. The eruption caused airline flight cancellations to Chile as well as Argentina and Uruguay. Authorities evacuated 4000 people from a zone with a 20 km radius from the volcano. For more information and background refer to WikipediA.

    This interferogram was computed by combining two radar images acquired over the area of Calbuco Volcano, Chile, during the time of a volcanic eruption. Specifically, it was computed by combining images acquired on 14th and 26th of April, both in a ascending Interferometric Wide Swath mode.

    The KZM file of this interferogram is available for download via insarap.org web-page, while for the interpretation and further analysis of the volcano eruption refer to the work of NERC COMET team.

    Download links

    All Sentinel-1 results that are available for download are Derived Works of Copernicus data (2015), subject to the following use conditions: "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SENTINEL DATA".

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    Calbuco Volcano monitored by S-1

    Calbuco, Chile

    • Archive of

    Previous Results

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      Sentinel-1 TOPS Interferogram

      August 2014

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      Sentinel-1 DInSAR: Napa Earthquake

      September 2014

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      Fogo Volcano eruption observed by Sentinel-1

      November 2014

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      Sentinel-1 InSAR on a Continental Scale

      Nov/Dec 2014

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      Sentinel-1 InSAR on a Continental Scale

      Feb 2015

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      Project in Media (Page Coming Soon)

      Year 2014 & 2015

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