Nonuniform Ground Motion Monitoring With TerraSAR-X Persistent Scatterer Interferometry

In the past, the application of Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) was primarily possible in the case of slow (less than a few centimeters per year) uniform movements. In this paper, we show how PSI permits the monitoring of relatively fast (including rates up to > 50 cm/year) and nonuniform movements using TerraSAR-X repeat observations over deep-level mining. To enable this, parts of the PSI methodology were adapted to the special characteristics of the example studied. Apart from a description of the methodology used and the result achieved, error considerations and a validation of the result with in situ measurements are included.