Megaproject Monitoring by Satellite — InSAR-based Settlement-time History

Satellite-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar, or InSAR, has gained unequivocal importance as a routine and precise monitoring method for large and small areas alike. Historical datasets allow us to “go back in time” to build large stacks of radar images that can be used to detect and measure deformations of buildings, infrastructure, and the ground surface near tunnelling, construction, or dewatering activities. Time-series analyses enable measurement of vertical or horizontal movement over time at thousands of points with millimetric precision. With increasing availability of data that cover all parts of the world, InSAR is proving to be a critical tool for assessing long-term stability of structures in many types of projects.