Tianjin Suburbs Subsidence Monitoring with L- and X-band Multi-temporal InSAR Data

The aim of this dissertation is to enhance the capability of monitoring subsidence in Tianjin suburbs by combining L- and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data with Interferometry (InSAR) time series analysis. Tianjin is located in one of the major subsidence regions in China and several new subsiding centers have been found in the suburbs of Tianjin. Advanced remote sensing technique, Permanent Scatterers (PS) based on SAR data has been found to be a feasible way to detect and monitor wide area ground subsidence at a low cost.;TerraSAR X-band (TSX) of short wavelength (3.1 cm) provides new generation SAR data with high spatial resolution of 1 m and short revisit period of 11 days. It maintains the capability to fast build up interferometric stack, and to measure the subsidence of individual features, while almost no information can be detected with X-band in the forested and vegetated areas. ALOS L-band signal of longer wavelength (23cm) penetrates deeper into the vegetation cover and depicts higher coherence over non-urban areas, while the spatial resolution is relatively lower (7m) and revisit time is longer (46 days). The characteristics of these two bands can be regarded as complementary. Combining L- and X-band can enhance abilities of subsidence monitoring and provide more reliable results. Although ALOS died on April 22, 2011, this research work will provide general answers for combining different bands of SAR data to monitor subsidence, and give suggestions for future research work.;In this research work, we have developed the strategy of combining L- and X-band with InSAR time series analysis. This strategy can not only be an optimized X-band acquisition plan, but also be a multi-level wide area monitoring strategy of subsidence with fast extraction, high precision and low cost.;Moreover, with multi-temporal SAR data, we also investigate monitoring abilities of L- and X-band by exploring PS and Quasi-PS (QPS) techniques. The subsidence patterns derived from L- and X-band InSAR time series analysis are observed to have a good agreement. Three severe land subsidence zones were detected, containing one newly discovered subsiding center located in Nanhe Town.;The X-band PS analysis shows high density of PS points and confirms its strong ability for simultaneously monitoring subsidence over star-like-distributed multiple towns. The results also demonstrate that linear constructions such as railways, highways and power lines can be detected in detail with high resolution TSX SAR data and indicates the deformation monitoring capability for large-scale man-made linear features which is a key application in China.;Furthermore, L- and X-band results were independently validated with leveling data and ground motion processes were studied. The uncertainties were comprehensively analyzed between PS results and ground leveling data, whose densities are very different in both spatial and temporal domains. The overall results show a good agreement with each other.;Finally, we find that underground water extraction is one of the major reasons for ground subsidence in Tianjin. In addition, with the integrated analysis of the PS results and the geological data, we found that lithological characteristics may be another important reason to explain location and shape of the subsiding centers.;Key words: Tianjin Suburbs; subsidence monitoring; Permanent Scatterers (PS); Quasi-PS (QPS); L-band; X-band.