A New Deformation Enhancement Method Based on Multitemporal InSAR for Landslide Surface Stability Assessment

The complex terrain and abundant ravines in the western mountainous areas of Beijing have led to dramatic changes in the geological environment. Monitoring and assessing the stability of landslide surfaces is of great significance for disaster prevention and ensuring the safety of the capital city. According to the spatial similarity characteristics of landslide surfaces, we propose a new interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) deformation enhancement method by taking into account the time-series deformation information of spatially adjacent homogeneous monitoring points. Taking Dongjiang Gully, Beijing as a typical study area, using multitemporal InSAR technology, 80 scenes of RADARSAT-2 data from September 2016 to September 2022 were processed to obtain their time-series surface deformation to verify the advantages of the proposed method. The results show that the standard deviation of the deformation difference of all monitoring points is generally reduced after the deformation enhancement, and the mean value is reduced from 5.1 to 3.3, which is 35.2% lower in comparison. Then this study assesses the stability of the landslide surface based on the deformation enhancement results. First, the optical image interpretation was combined with the angular distortions derived from deformation gradients to analyze the spatial location and boundaries of the landslide, and then to identify the infrastructure that is more susceptible to landslide impact. Second, through the principal component analysis method, the correlation between each component and the distribution characteristics of surface deformation was analyzed. Finally, starting from geological factors and triggering conditions, the driving force for landslide surface deformation was discussed, and it was drawn that seasonal precipitation is a major influencing factor. The proposed method can provide a reference for landslide monitoring and assessment in similar areas.