Potential of C-Band SAR Interferometry for Dam Monitoring

Abstract

Despite the recent popularity achieved by the modern X-band SAR sensors, mainly due to their high spatial resolutions which enable the detection of deformation components impossible so far, such as thermal expansion, SAR C-band sensors continue to be of great utility and with a great future in the deformation monitoring field, namely for critical structure monitoring, such as dams. The new ESA missions (Sentinel-1A and 1B) and the extension of the Canadian Radarsat mission corroborate this finding. In this paper the possibility of using spacebome SAR sensors for dam monitoring is addressed in terms of feasibility and applications. The presented results show the potential of C-band sensors for the particular case of dam monitoring and can be handful to recognize the applicability of new Sentinel-1 data (since 2014) for continuous monitoring of dam deformations. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.