User-Friendly InSAR Data Products: Fast and Simple Timeseries Processing

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) methods provide high-resolution maps of surface deformation applicable to many scientific, engineering, and management studies. Despite its utility, the specialized skills and computer resources required for InSAR analysis remain as barriers for truly widespread use of the technique. Reduction of radar scenes to maps of temporal deformation evolution requires not only detailed metadata describing the exact radar and surface acquisition geometries, but also a software package that can combine these for the specific scenes of interest. Furthermore, the range-Doppler reference frame and radar coordinate system itself are confusing, so that many users find it hard to incorporate even useful products in their customary analyses. Finally, the sheer data volume needed for interferogram time series makes InSAR analysis challenging for many analysis systems. We show here that it is possible to deliver radar data products to users that address all of these difficulties, so that the data acquired by large, modern satellite systems are ready to use in more natural coordinates, without requiring further processing, and in as small volume as possible.