Differential SAR Interferometry for surface monitoring of an Earth Dam

摘要

Surface dam monitoring has been always based on traditional surveying techniques that are time consuming and characterized by some limitations in space coverage and frequency. More recently DInSAR (Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry) satellite-based technologies allow us to integrate and improve the monitoring capabilities provided by ground-based methods, thanks to their effectiveness to measure displacements on reflecting elements of the structure, acting as non-destructive control points. Therefore the availability of a large number of measurements points distributed along the whole structure and the capability of observing displacement rates of few millimeters per year furnish useful information for the calibration of numerical models simulating dam behavior under stress conditions, thus improving the maintainance of safety standards. The aim of this work is to show how DInSAR technique integrated with the traditional measurements was adopted to analyse the long-term displacements of an earth dam in Genzano di Lucania.