Subsidence monitoring using SAR interferometry: Reduction of the atmospheric effects using stochastic filtering

The atmospheric effects represent one of the major limits of SAR interferometry as a quantitative technique to monitor subsidences. In this work, which focuses on subsidences of small spatial extent, a procedure to reduce these effects is described. The atmospheric component of the interferometric phase is estimated adopting a filtering and prediction procedure, which exploits the phase over stable areas identified in the vicinity of the analysed subsidence area. The procedure was validated on a suitable test site located in North-eastern Spain. Furthermore, it was employed in the study of a small-scale subsidence, where the interferometric results were validated using precise geodetic observations.