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Observing Geohazards from Space

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A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Hazards".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2017) | Viewed by 92384

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Francesca Cigna

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Guest Editor

Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council (CNR), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: landscape evolution; geophysical hazards; archaeology; cultural heritage; remote sensing; earth observation; InSAR; landslides; land subsidence; ground instability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The goal of this Special Issue of Geosciences is to gather high-quality original research articles and reviews on the use of Earth Observation (EO) data and technologies to image and monitor geohazards from space.

Geohazards, such as landslides, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, ground subsidence and heave, pose significant risks to human life and property. Even when not with catastrophic consequences, or when characterised by relatively slow onset and evolution, these processes may be damaging over long time periods. Human interaction with the environment may also combine with natural processes, and thus trigger, induce acceleration or exacerbate the impacts of geohazards on built environment.

Topics of interest of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to: development, validation and implementation of satellite EO data processing methods and applications for geohazards mapping and monitoring; radar interferometry (InSAR), object-based image analysis (OBIA), multi-spectral data analysis, feature extraction, time series analysis, photo-interpretation, and digital fieldwork.

Authors are encouraged to approach the Guest Editor by sending a short abstract outlining the purpose of the research and the principal results obtained, in order to verify at an early stage if the contribution they intend to submit fits with the objectives of the Special Issue.

Dr. Francesca Cigna
Guest Editor

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Geohazards
Natural Hazards
Geological Processes
Emergency Response
Damage Assessment
Slope Instability
Volcanoes
Earthquakes
Floods and Tsunamis
Land Subsidence and Heave
Earth Observation
Radar, InSAR
Multispectral
Object-Based Classification
Digital Fieldwork

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Editorial

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6 pages, 190 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Observing Geohazards from Space

by Francesca Cigna

Geosciences 2018, 8(2), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8020059 - 08 Feb 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3721

Abstract

With a wide spectrum of imaging capabilities—from optical to radar sensors, low to very high resolution, continental to local scale, single-image to multi-temporal approaches, yearly to sub-daily acquisition repeat cycles—Earth Observation (EO) offers several opportunities for the geoscience community to map and monitor natural and human-induced Earth hazards from space. The Special Issue “Observing Geohazards from Space” of Geosciences gathers 12 research articles on the development, validation, and implementation of satellite EO data, processing methods, and applications for mapping and monitoring of geohazards such as slow moving landslides, ground subsidence and uplift, and active and abandoned mining-induced ground movements. Papers published in this Special Issue provide novel case studies demonstrating how EO and remote sensing data can be used to detect and delineate land instability and geological hazards in different environmental contexts and using a range of spatial resolutions and image processing methods. Remote sensing datasets used in the Special Issue papers encompass satellite imagery from the ERS-1/2, ENVISAT, RADARSAT-1/2, and Sentinel-1 C-band, TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed X-band, and ALOS L-band SAR missions; Landsat 7, SPOT-5, WorldView-2/3, and Sentinel-2 multi-spectral data; UAV-derived RGB and near infrared aerial photographs; LiDAR surveying; and GNSS positioning data. Techniques that are showcased include, but are not limited to, differential Interferometric SAR (InSAR) and its advanced approaches such as Persistent Scatterers (PS) and Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) methods to estimate ground deformation, Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) to identify landslides in high resolution multi-spectral data, UAV and airborne photogrammetry, Structure-from-Motion (SfM) for digital elevation model generation, aerial photo-interpretation, feature extraction, and time series analysis. Case studies presented in the papers focus on landslides, natural and human-induced subsidence, and groundwater management and mining-related ground deformation in many local to regional-scale study areas in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, and the UK. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

Research

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22 pages, 27039 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Subsidence Trends of Volturno River Coastal Plain (Northern Campania, Southern Italy) Inferred by SAR Interferometry Data

by Fabio Matano, Marco Sacchi, Marco Vigliotti and Daniela Ruberti

Geosciences 2018, 8(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8010008 - 02 Jan 2018

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 6042

Abstract

The Volturno Plain is one of the largest alluvial plains of peninsular Italy, which is one of the most susceptible plains to coastal hazards. This area is characterized by both natural and human-induced subsidence. This present study is based on the post-processing, analysis and mapping of the available Persistent Scatterer interferometry datasets. The latter were derived from the combination of both ascending and descending orbits of three different radar satellite systems during an observation period of almost two decades (June 1992–September 2010). The main output of this study is a map of vertical deformation, which provides new insights into the areal variability of the ground deformation processes (subsidence/uplift) of Volturno plain over the last few decades. The vertical displacement values obtained by the post-processing of the interferometric data show that the Volturno river plain is characterized by significant subsidence in the central axial sectors and in the river mouth area. Moderate uplift is detected in the eastern part of the plain, whereas other sectors of the study area are characterized by moderate subsidence and/or stability. On the basis of the analyzed subsoil stratigraphy, we inferred that the subsidence recorded in the Volturno plain is mainly a consequence of a natural process related to the compaction of the fluvial and palustrine deposits that form the alluvial plain. The anthropic influences (e.g., water exploitation, urbanization) are substantially considered to be an additional factor that may enhance subsidence only locally. The uplift mapped in the eastern sector of the plain is related to the tectonic activity. The study of the subsidence in the Volturno plain is a valuable tool for river flood analyses and the assessment of the coastal inundation hazards and related risk mitigation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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Open AccessArticle

A Study of Ground Movements in Brussels (Belgium) Monitored by Persistent Scatterer Interferometry over a 25-Year Period

by Pierre-Yves Declercq, Jan Walstra, Pierre Gérard, Eric Pirard, Daniele Perissin, Bruno Meyvis and Xavier Devleeschouwer

Geosciences 2017, 7(4), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7040115 - 08 Nov 2017

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5576

Abstract

The time series of Synthetic Aperture Radar data acquired by four satellite missions (including ERS, Envisat, TerraSAR-X and Sentinel 1) were processed using Persistent Scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) techniques. The processed datasets provide a nearly continuous coverage from 1992 to 2017 over the Brussels Region (Belgium) and give evidence of ongoing, slow ground deformations. The results highlight an area of uplift located in the heart of the city, with a cumulative ground displacement of ±4 cm over a 25-year period. The rates of uplift appear to have decreased from 2 to 4 mm/year during the ERS acquisition period (1992–2006) down to 0.5–1 mm/year for the Sentinel 1 data (2014–2017). Uplift of the city centre is attributed to a reduction of groundwater extraction from the deeper (Cenozoic-Paleozoic) aquifers, related to the deindustrialization of the city centre since the 1970s. The groundwater levels attested by piezometers in these aquifers show a clear recharge trend which induced the uplift. Some areas of subsidence in the river valleys such as the Maelbeek can be related to the natural settlement of soft, young alluvial deposits, possibly increased by the load of buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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Open AccessArticle

Ground Stability Monitoring of Undermined and Landslide Prone Areas by Means of Sentinel-1 Multi-Temporal InSAR, Case Study from Slovakia

by Richard Czikhardt, Juraj Papco, Matus Bakon, Pavel Liscak, Peter Ondrejka and Marian Zlocha

Geosciences 2017, 7(3), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7030087 - 15 Sep 2017

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 9070

Abstract

Multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar interferometry techniques (MT-InSAR) are nowadays a well-developed remote sensing tool for ground stability monitoring of areas afflicted by natural hazards. Its application capability has recently been emphasized by the Sentinel-1 satellite mission, providing extensive spatial coverage, regular temporal sampling and free data availability. We perform MT-InSAR analysis over the wider Upper Nitra region in Slovakia, utilizing all Sentinel-1 images acquired since November 2014 until March 2017. This region is notable for its extensive landslide susceptibility as well as intensive brown coal mining. We focus on two case studies, being impaired by recent activation of these geohazards, which caused serious damage to local structures. We incorporate a processing chain based on open-source tools, combining the current Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) and Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS) implementation. MT-InSAR results reveal substantial activity at both case studies, exceeding the annual displacement velocities of 30 mm/year. Moreover, our observations are validated and their accuracy is confirmed via comparison with ground truth data from borehole inclinometers and terrestrial levelling. Detected displacement time series provide valuable insight into the spatio-temporal evolution of corresponding deformation phenomena and are thus complementary to conventional terrestrial monitoring techniques. At the same time, they not only demonstrate the feasibility of MT-InSAR for the assessment of remediation works, but also constitute the possibility of operational monitoring and routine landslide inventory updates, regarding the free Sentinel-1 data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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Ground Motion in Areas of Abandoned Mining: Application of the Intermittent SBAS (ISBAS) to the Northumberland and Durham Coalfield, UK

by David Gee, Luke Bateson, Andrew Sowter, Stephen Grebby, Alessandro Novellino, Francesca Cigna, Stuart Marsh, Carl Banton and Lee Wyatt

Geosciences 2017, 7(3), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7030085 - 13 Sep 2017

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 8402

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate land motion and groundwater level change phenomena using differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) over the Northumberland and Durham coalfield in the United Kingdom. The study re-visits earlier research that applied a persistent scatterers interferometry (PSI) technique to ERS (European Remote Sensing) and ENVISAT (Environmental Satellite) data. Here, the Intermittent Small Baseline Subset (ISBAS) DInSAR technique is applied to ERS, ENVISAT and Sentinel-1 SAR datasets covering the late 1990s, the 2000s and the mid-2010s, respectively, to increase spatial coverage, aid the geological interpretation and consider the latest Sentinel-1 data. The ERS data identify surface depressions in proximity to former collieries, while all three data sets ascertain broad areas are experiencing regional scale uplift, often occurring in previously mined areas. Uplift is attributed to increases in pore pressure in the overburden following the cessation of groundwater pumping after mine closure. Rising groundwater levels are found to correlate to ground motion measurements at selected monitoring sites, most notably in the surrounding area of Ashington. The area is divided by an impermeable EW fault; to the south, surface heave was identified as groundwater levels rose in the 1990s, whereas to the north, this phenomenon occurred two decades later in the 2010s. The data emphasize the complexity of the post-mining surface and subsurface environment and highlight the benefit that InSAR, utilizing the ISBAS technique, can provide in its characterization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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Open AccessArticle

Mapping Ground Instability in Areas of Geotechnical Infrastructure Using Satellite InSAR and Small UAV Surveying: A Case Study in Northern Ireland

by Francesca Cigna, Vanessa J. Banks, Alexander W. Donald, Shane Donohue, Conor Graham, David Hughes, Jennifer M. McKinley and Kieran Parker

Geosciences 2017, 7(3), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7030051 - 06 Jul 2017

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 9452

Abstract

Satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), geological data and Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) surveying was used to enhance our understanding of ground movement at five areas of interest in Northern Ireland. In total 68 ERS-1/2 images 1992–2000 were processed with the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) InSAR technique to derive the baseline ground instability scenario of key areas of interest for five stakeholders: TransportNI, Northern Ireland Railways, Department for the Economy, Arup, and Belfast City Council. These stakeholders require monitoring of ground deformation across either their geotechnical infrastructure (i.e., embankments, cuttings, engineered fills and earth retaining structures) or assessment of subsidence risk as a result of abandoned mine workings, using the most efficient, cost-effective methods, with a view to minimising and managing risk to their businesses. The InSAR results provided an overview of the extent and magnitude of ground deformation for a 3000 km² region, including the key sites of the disused salt mines in Carrickfergus, the Belfast–Bangor railway line, Throne Bend and Ligoniel Park in Belfast, Straidkilly and Garron Point along the Antrim Coast Road, plus other urbanised areas in and around Belfast. Tailored SUAV campaigns with a X8 airframe and generation of very high resolution ortho-photographs and a 3D surface model via the Structure from Motion (SfM) approach at Maiden Mount salt mine collapse in Carrickfergus in 2016 and 2017 also demonstrate the benefits of very high resolution surveying technologies to detect localised deformation and indicators of ground instability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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21658 KiB

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Comparing Manual and Semi-Automated Landslide Mapping Based on Optical Satellite Images from Different Sensors

by Daniel Hölbling, Clemens Eisank, Florian Albrecht, Filippo Vecchiotti, Barbara Friedl, Elisabeth Weinke and Arben Kociu

Geosciences 2017, 7(2), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7020037 - 19 May 2017

Cited by 49 | Viewed by 8191

Abstract

Object-based image analysis (OBIA) has been increasingly used to map geohazards such as landslides on optical satellite images. OBIA shows various advantages over traditional image analysis methods due to its potential for considering various properties of segmentation-derived image objects (spectral, spatial, contextual, and textural) for classification. For accurately identifying and mapping landslides, however, visual image interpretation is still the most widely used method. The major question therefore is if semi-automated methods such as OBIA can achieve results of comparable quality in contrast to visual image interpretation. In this paper we apply OBIA for detecting and delineating landslides in five selected study areas in Austria and Italy using optical Earth Observation (EO) data from different sensors (Landsat 7, SPOT-5, WorldView-2/3, and Sentinel-2) and compare the OBIA mapping results to outcomes from visual image interpretation. A detailed evaluation of the mapping results per study area and sensor is performed by a number of spatial accuracy metrics, and the advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches for landslide mapping on optical EO data are discussed. The analyses show that both methods produce similar results, whereby the achieved accuracy values vary between the study areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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Assessment of Landslide Pre-Failure Monitoring and Forecasting Using Satellite SAR Interferometry

by Serena Moretto, Francesca Bozzano, Carlo Esposito, Paolo Mazzanti and Alfredo Rocca

Geosciences 2017, 7(2), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7020036 - 12 May 2017

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 6258

Abstract

In this work, the ability of advanced satellite interferometry to monitor pre-failure landslide behaviours and the potential application of this technique to Failure Forecasting Methods (FFMs) are analysed. Several limits affect the ability of the technique to monitor a landslide process, especially during the pre-failure phase (tertiary creep). In this study, two of the major limitations affecting the technique have been explored: (1) the low data sampling frequency and (2) the phase ambiguity constraints. We explored the time series of displacements for 56 monitored landslides inferred from the scientific literature and from different in situ and remote monitoring instruments (i.e., extensometers, inclinometers, distometers, Ground Base InSAR, and total station). Furthermore, four different forecasting techniques have been applied to the monitoring data of the selected landslides. To analyse the reliability of the FFMs based on the InSAR satellite data, the 56 time series have been sampled based on different satellite features, simulating the satellite revisit time and the phase ambiguity constraints. Our analysis shows that the satellite InSAR technique could be successful in monitoring the landslide’s tertiary creep phase and, in some cases, for forecasting the corresponding time of failure using FFMs. However, the low data sampling frequency of the present satellite systems do not capture the necessary detail for the application of FFMs in actual risk management problems or for early warning purposes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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Assessment of the Evolution of a Landslide Using Digital Photogrammetry and LiDAR Techniques in the Alpujarras Region (Granada, Southeastern Spain)

by Tomás Fernández, José Luis Pérez, Carlos Colomo, Javier Cardenal, Jorge Delgado, José Antonio Palenzuela, Clemente Irigaray and José Chacón

Geosciences 2017, 7(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7020032 - 27 Apr 2017

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5839

Abstract

In this work a detailed analysis of the temporal evolution of the Almegíjar landslide is presented. It is a rock slide located in the Alpujarras region (Granada, Spain) that has developed over the last 30 years. Six datasets and photogrammetric flights corresponding to the years 1956, 1984, 1992, 2001, 2008, and 2010 were surveyed. The more recent flight of 2010 combined an aerial digital camera and a LiDAR sensor and was oriented by means of in-flight data and tie points. This 2010 flight allowed for the generation of a reliable and high-precision Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The other flights were oriented using second-order ground control points transferred from the 2010 flight, and the corresponding DTMs were prepared by automatic matching and subsequent editing from the stereoscopic models. After comparing the DTMs of different dates, it has been observed that the landslide was triggered after 1984 and since then has evolved in an irregular pattern with periods of variable activity. On average, the ground surface dropped more than 8 m in depleted zones and rose nearly 4 m in the accumulation zones, with a velocity catalogued as very slow (about 15–30 cm/year) over a time span corresponding to a degree VIII of diachroneity. The total volume of the mobilized mass of this large contemporary slide was about 300 × 10³ m³. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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14232 KiB

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Analysis of Costantino Landslide Dam Evolution (Southern Italy) by Means of Satellite Images, Aerial Photos, and Climate Data

by Corrado Cencetti, Lucio Di Matteo and Saverio Romeo

Geosciences 2017, 7(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7020030 - 19 Apr 2017

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5131

Abstract

Large landslides, triggered by earthquakes or heavy rainfall, often obstruct the river’s flow to form landslide dams, causing upstream inundations, and downstream flooding. In Italy, landslide dams are rather widespread along in Alps and Apennines: although the identification of past events is a complex task, some hundreds of landslide dams are identified in the literature. In order to assess the formation and evolution of landslide dams, several studies suggested the employment of geomorphological indexes. In this framework, the knowledge of site-specific time-space evolution can be useful in the understanding of the landslide dams phenomena. The present work focuses on a landslide dam that occurred in January 1973, which totally dammed the Bonamico River Valley (Southern Italy): the lake reached an area of about 175,000 m², a volume of about 3.6 × 10⁶ m³ and a maximum depth of 40 m. During 1973–2008, the lake surface gradually decreased and nowadays it is completely extinct by filling. By using satellite and aerial images, the paper discusses the evolution of the lake surface and the causes of the lake extinction. The use of a climate index (i.e., standardized precipitation index at different time scale) indicates that in recent decades the alternance of drought and heavy rainfall periods affected the inflow/outflow dynamics, the filling of lake due to the solid transport of the Bonamico River, and the failure of the landslide dam. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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21042 KiB

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Exploitation of Satellite A-DInSAR Time Series for Detection, Characterization and Modelling of Land Subsidence

by Roberta Bonì, Claudia Meisina, Francesca Cigna, Gerardo Herrera, Davide Notti, Stephanie Bricker, Harry McCormack, Roberto Tomás, Marta Béjar-Pizarro, Joaquín Mulas and Pablo Ezquerro

Geosciences 2017, 7(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7020025 - 11 Apr 2017

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 6033

Abstract

In the last two decades, advanced differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (A-DInSAR) techniques have experienced significant developments, which are mainly related to (i) the progress of satellite SAR data acquired by new missions, such as COSMO-SkyMed and ESA’s Sentinel-1 constellations; and (ii) the development of novel processing algorithms. The improvements in A-DInSAR ground deformation time series need appropriate methodologies to analyse extremely large datasets which consist of huge amounts of measuring points and associated deformation histories with high temporal resolution. This work demonstrates A-DInSAR time series exploitation as valuable tool to support different problems in engineering geology such as detection, characterization and modelling of land subsidence mechanisms. The capabilities and suitability of A-DInSAR time series from an end-user point of view are presented and discussed through the analysis carried out for three test sites in Europe: the Oltrepo Pavese (Po Plain in Italy), the Alto Guadalentín (Spain) and the London Basin (United Kingdom). Principal component analysis has been performed for the datasets available for the three case histories, in order to extract the great potential contained in the A-DInSAR time series. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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Combined Use of C- and X-Band SAR Data for Subsidence Monitoring in an Urban Area

by Lorenzo Solari, Andrea Ciampalini, Federico Raspini, Silvia Bianchini, Ivana Zinno, Manuela Bonano, Michele Manunta, Sandro Moretti and Nicola Casagli

Geosciences 2017, 7(2), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7020021 - 01 Apr 2017

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 6504

Abstract

In this study, we present the detection and characterization of ground displacements in the urban area of Pisa (Central Italy) using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) products. Thirty RADARSAT-2 and twenty-nine COSMO-SkyMed images have been analyzed with the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) algorithm, in order to quantify the ground subsidence and its temporal evolution in the three-year time interval from 2011 to 2014. A borehole database was reclassified in stratigraphical and geotechnical homogeneous units, providing the geological background needed for the local scale analysis of the recorded displacements. Moreover, the interferometric outputs were compared with the last 30 years’ urban evolution of selected parts of the city. Two deformation patterns were recorded by the InSAR data: very slow vertical movements within the defined stability threshold (±2.5 mm/yr) and areas with subsidence rates down to −5 to −7 mm/yr, associated with high peak velocities (−15 to −20 mm/yr) registered by single buildings or small groups of buildings. Some of these structures are used to demonstrate that the high subsidence rates are related to the recent urbanization, which is the trigger for the accelerated consolidation process of highly compressible layers. Finally, this urban area was a valuable test site for demonstrating the different results of the C- and X-band data processing, in terms of the density of points and the quality of the time series of deformation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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Assessing the Feasibility of a National InSAR Ground Deformation Map of Great Britain with Sentinel-1

by Alessandro Novellino, Francesca Cigna, Mouna Brahmi, Andrew Sowter, Luke Bateson and Stuart Marsh

Geosciences 2017, 7(2), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7020019 - 30 Mar 2017

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 10726

Abstract

This work assesses the feasibility of national ground deformation monitoring of Great Britain using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery acquired by Copernicus’ Sentinel-1 constellation and interferometric SAR (InSAR) analyses. As of December 2016, the assessment reveals that, since May 2015, more than 250 interferometric wide (IW) swath products have been acquired on average every month by the constellation at regular revisit cycles for the entirety of Great Britain. A simulation of radar distortions (layover, foreshortening, and shadow) confirms that topographic constraints have a limited effect on SAR visibility of the landmass and, despite the predominance of rural land cover types, there is potential for over 22,000,000 intermittent small baseline subset (ISBAS) monitoring targets for each acquisition geometry (ascending and descending) using a set of IW image frames covering the entire landmass. Finally, InSAR results derived through ISBAS processing of the Doncaster area with an increasing amount of Sentinel-1 IW scenes reveal a consistent decrease of standard deviation of InSAR velocities from 6 mm/year to ≤2 mm/year. Such results can be integrated with geological and geohazard susceptibility data and provide key information to inform the government, other institutions and the public on the stability of the landmass. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Geohazards from Space)

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