Monitoring of mining-induced surface deformation in the Ruhrgebiet (Germany) with SAR interferometry

Subsurface coal mining cause significant surface deformations. In this contribution the potential and limitations of ERS repeat-pass differential SAR interferometry for mining induced surface deformation monitoring is evaluated based on the example of the German Ruhrgebiet. ERS data in ascending and descending mode, including Tandem pairs suited to estimate the topography related phase, are used for the analysis. Especially for urban areas the technique performs well as confirmed through validation with mining information. The main limiting factor identified is temporal decorrelation of the signal which does not allow estimation of surface deformation velocities in forested and in many cases agricultural areas.