SAR Applications in Engineering Geology and Structural Engineering

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Geophysics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019)

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Interests: SAR; InSAR; multi-temporal analysis; cryosphere; natural hazards
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Guest Editor
DICeM-Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale, Cassino, Italy
Interests: deep gravitative slope deformation; large landslides; remote sensing; DInSAR; natural and anthropic subsidence; active tectonics; hydrogeology

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Guest Editor
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Interests: synthetic aperture radar; GNSS; coastal and delta subsidence; oil spill
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Guest Editor
Federico II University of Naples, Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, Monte Sant Angelo Campus, 80126 Napoli, Italy
Interests: landslides; floods; sinkholes; remote sensing; risk analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
National Earthquake Observatory—Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, 00143 Rome, Italy
Interests: SAR; InSAR; satellite remote sensing; earthquakes; active tectonics; surface deformations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The scientific community can take advantage in terms of knowledge from InSAR and DInSAR products such as single interferograms and time series, thanks to the increasing availability of satellite SAR data (ERS, ENVISAT, COSMO-SkyMed, ALOS and TerraSAR-X, Sentinel-1a/b, etc.). Moreover, the progressive potential of these kinds of sensors in terms of spatial resolution; revisiting time, which is the prerogative of the orbiting constellation; and the different wavelengths, make the available products more accurate and suitable for using in a broad spectrum of engineering geology and structural engineering. Furthermore, the possibility to integrate the classic interpretation techniques, which stem from classic methods for producing DInSAR products, make it possible to grow new, strategic, worldwide research fields. In particular, the multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (MT-InSAR) is a monitoring technique capable of extracting line of sight (LOS) cumulative surface displacement measurements with millimeter accuracy. Several improvements in the techniques and datasets quality have led to more effective, near real-time assessment and responses, and a greater ability to constrain dynamically changing physical processes. Overall, the availability of new constellations of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors is leading to important advances in engineering geology and structural engineering. These constellations offer the advantage of reduced revisit times, providing low-latency data that enable analysis that can identify structural instability and dynamic deformation processes.

This Special Issue focuses on new applications jointly exploiting differential techniques, bridging the gaps between remote-sensing space-borne observations in engineering geology and structural engineering.

We are inviting submissions associated with the following:

  • Landslides
  • Bridges
  • Dams and levees
  • Sinkholes
  • Infrastructure
  • Natural and anthropic subsidence
  • Anthropogenic hazards
  • Technological disasters
  • Earthquakes

We seek studies involving interferometric SAR or pixel-offset techniques. We also invite submissions that use SAR data to improve rapid responses and provide an early warning for anthropogenic disasters. We invite kilometer- to continental-scale studies relying either on recently acquired data or on a compilation of archived data acquired from satellite, airplane, or ground-based radar systems.

Dr. Pietro Milillo
Prof. Michele Saroli
Dr. Alessandro Ferretti
Dr. Cathleen Jones
Prof. Domenico Calcaterra
Dr. Salvarore Stramondo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Landslides
  • Bridges
  • Dams and levees
  • Sinkholes
  • Infrastructure
  • Natural and anthropic subsidence
  • Anthropogenic hazards
  • Technological disasters
  • Earthquakes

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 8160 KiB  
Article
A-DInSAR Performance for Updating Landslide Inventory in Mountain Areas: An Example from Lombardy Region (Italy)
by Benedetta Antonielli, Paolo Mazzanti, Alfredo Rocca, Francesca Bozzano and Luca Dei Cas
Geosciences 2019, 9(9), 364; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9090364 - 22 Aug 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3767
Abstract
This work focuses on the capabilities and limitations of the Advanced Satellite SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Interferometry (A-DInSAR) in wooded and mountainous regions, with the aim to get insights on the performances for studying slow-moving landslides. The considered critical issues are related to [...] Read more.
This work focuses on the capabilities and limitations of the Advanced Satellite SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Interferometry (A-DInSAR) in wooded and mountainous regions, with the aim to get insights on the performances for studying slow-moving landslides. The considered critical issues are related to the SAR acquisition geometries (angle of incidence of the satellite line of sight, ascending and descending geometries) and to the physical and morphological features of the slopes (land use, aspect and slope angles), which influence the measuring points coverage. 26 areas in Lombardy Region (Italy), affected by known slope instability phenomena, have been analyzed through A-DInSAR technique, using COSMO-SkyMed images. The results allowed to outline general considerations about the effectiveness of A-DInSAR analysis of a single dataset (descending or ascending dataset), selected accordingly to the aspect of the slopes. Moreover, we aimed to quantitatively describe the capability to update the state of activity of several previously mapped landslides using satellite SAR Interferometry results. Although in a wooded and mountainous region, where the chances of retrieving radar targets for satellite SAR analysis are generally low, the A-DInSAR results have allowed to detect landslides’ reactivations or new landslides and to update the inventory for about 70% of the investigated areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SAR Applications in Engineering Geology and Structural Engineering)
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18 pages, 32753 KiB  
Article
Using PS-InSAR with Sentinel-1 Images for Deformation Monitoring in Northeast Algeria
by Omar Beladam, Timo Balz, Bahaa Mohamadi and Mahdjoub Abdalhak
Geosciences 2019, 9(7), 315; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9070315 - 17 Jul 2019
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 7037
Abstract
Constantine city, Algeria, and its surroundings have always been affected by natural and human-induced slope instability and subsidence. Neogene clay-conglomeratic formations, which form the largest part of Constantine city, are extremely sensitive to the presence of water, which makes them susceptible to landslides. [...] Read more.
Constantine city, Algeria, and its surroundings have always been affected by natural and human-induced slope instability and subsidence. Neogene clay-conglomeratic formations, which form the largest part of Constantine city, are extremely sensitive to the presence of water, which makes them susceptible to landslides. Fast and accurate identification and monitoring of the main areas facing existing or potential hazardous risks at a regional scale, as well as measuring the amount of displacement is essential for the conservation and sustainable development of Constantine. In the last three decades, the application of radar interferometry techniques for the measurement of millimeter-level terrain motions has become one of the most powerful tools for ground deformation monitoring due to its large coverage and low costs. Persistent scatterer interferometry (PS-InSAR) has a demonstrated potential for monitoring a range of hazard event scenarios and tracking their spatiotemporal evolution. We demonstrate the efficiency of Sentinel-1 data for deformation monitoring in Constantine located in the northeast of Algeria, and how an array of information such as geological maps and ground-measurements are integrated for deformation mapping. We conclude this article with a discussion of the potential of advanced differential radar interferometry approaches and their applicability for structural and ground deformation monitoring, including the advantages and challenges of these approaches in the north of Algeria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SAR Applications in Engineering Geology and Structural Engineering)
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