Fading Signal: An Overlooked Error Source for Distributed Scatterer Interferometry

We reveal the presence of a peculiar physical signal which compromises the accuracy of Earth surface deformation estimates for distributed scatterers [1]. The observed signal is short-lived and decays with the temporal baseline; however, it is distinct from the stochastic noise attributed to temporal decorrelation. To indicate its nature, this physical effect is referred to as fading signal. Designing a simple approach in the evaluation of distributed scatterers, we reveal a prominent bias in the deformation velocity maps. The bias is the result of propagation of small phase error through the time series. We further discuss the role of the phase estimation algorithms in significant reduction of the bias and put forward the idea of a unified analysis-ready InSAR product for achieving high-precision deformation monitoring.