Persistent scatterer interferometry based on terrasar-X imagery: The barcelona test area

The aim of this paper is deformation monitoring over urban areas using Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) and Very High Resolution (VHR) X-band SAR imagery. Since the launch of TerraSAR-X and the first COSMO-SkyMed satellite (both were launched in June 2007), the VHR X-band data has grown in importance as source of PSI. This is due to the remarkable increase of the data acquisition capability (for instance, the COSMO-SkyMed constellation consists of three SAR satellites in mid 2010), the progressive loss of key sources of SAR images, as ASAR-Envisat and ERS-2, and the promising technical characteristics of the Xband. This paper illustrates some of the main results of the PSI analysis derived from VHR X-band data. The analysis was carried out over a stack of SAR images captured by the TerraSAR-X sensor and covering the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Spain). This work is the first experience of the authors with PSI analysis of the X-band, which is based on a rich set of 28 StripMap images. These images were processed and analysed using the PSI in-house experimental software chain of the Institute of Geomatics. A description of the Barcelona dataset and the main outcomes of the PSI analysis is given. These outcomes reflect a preliminary assessment of the improvement which can be achieved by VHR X-band PSI, mainly in terms of deformation monitoring capability.