PS-InSAR time series analysis for measuring surface deformation before the L'Aquila earthquake

L'Aquila area has a high topography and complex geological structures, and is covered with thick vegetation and snow in areas of high topography. To monitor the characteristics of crustal deformation in this region before the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, we apply StaMPS software to analyse 20 descending ASAR images acquired between September 2003 and March 2007 and 39 ascending ASAR images acquired between February 2003 and March 2009. In this paper, two mean LOS deformation velocity maps are acquired for this area, which reveal the same deformation pattern. Several deformation gradient in this area can be clearly identified, furthermore, we discover that most faults in this region may strike approximately NW-SE and dip <; 90° to SW. We also draw the conclusion that descending SAR images are superior to ascending ones in monitoring crustal deformation with InSAR in this region.