Development and Application of Pseudo-SAR Image Simulator

In recent years, Japan has experienced a lot of accidental heavy rains inducing landslides. To reduce damage from landslides, it is necessary to take appropriate countermeasures through constant monitoring of ground deformation. Among various methods for monitoring ground deformation, SAR is superior in that it can observe a wide area with high accuracy. However, SAR image analysis is not always appropriate for some geomorphological conditions. In this study, we have developed a simulator capable of generating phase components in SAR images with arbitrary topography and ground deformation and show the usefulness of the simulator. It is confirmed that the simulated SAR images, generated based on the basic equation of phase variation caused by reflections from features, can be applied to existing ground deformation estimation methods in the same way as authentic SAR images. We also simulated some cases in which the topography and ground deformation were rotated relative to the satellite orbit. The experiments found that the characteristics and range of the ground deformation, which can be predicted from the line-of-sight (LOS) deformation estimated by PSInSAR, differed depending on the relationship between the satellite orbit and the direction of the movement.