Application of SAR for Monitoring of Permafrost Ground Changes on Livingston Island, Antarctica

The present study aims to examine the potential of radar satellite data to assess surface changes induced by permafrost melting. Surface changes related to permafrost melting on Livingston Island, Antarctica were examined using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite data from Sentinel-1 sensors of the European Space Agency (ESA). The study area coincides with previous field studies of permafrost melting performed by electrical resistivity tomographic profiles and satellite-based monitoring using Sentinel-2 optical images. The observation period encompasses the month of February from 2017 to 2024.The results show that the radar measurements confirm the observed trend of melting of the active layer of the permafrost periglacial area during the Austral summer of 2017.