Advanced SAR/InSAR Techniques in Understanding and Monitoring Geohazards

Dear Colleagues,

The Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) has revolutionized the way we observe and quantify Earth's surface deformations. Over the past decades, such technologies have emerged as indispensable tools in geophysics, enabling precise, large-scale measurements of ground movements with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Their impact spans across numerous scientific and applied fields, providing critical insights into hazard processes such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, glacier dynamics, underground fluid shifts, and even sea-level variations and tsunami-induced deformations.

The rapid advancement of SAR technology has been further fuelled by the proliferation of satellite missions, including government-funded platforms, such as Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2, and an ever-growing number of commercial satellites. This unprecedented availability of SAR data, coupled with the continuous refinement of InSAR processing techniques, offers a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of natural hazard processes across varying spatial and temporal scales.

This Special Issue aims to capture and showcase the latest developments in SAR/InSAR methodologies and their transformative applications in hazard science. We encourage contributions that highlight recent innovations in SAR and InSAR data processing, including error correction strategies that integrate state-of-the-art techniques such as deep learning, as well as methodologies designed to handle the increasing volumes of SAR data. Submissions are also encouraged that explore the application of SAR/InSAR in conjunction with other geophysical datasets, such as GNSS and seismic observations, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of hazard mechanisms.

Additionally, this Special Issue seeks to explore how SAR/InSAR techniques contribute to the broader goals of natural disaster risk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and disaster risk reduction. We welcome contributions that address hazard assessments across diverse geophysical processes, employing both classical approaches and modern, integrated frameworks. This includes case studies that utilize remote sensing technologies in innovative ways to improve risk assessment and management strategies for multi-hazard environments.

Key topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Development of novel algorithms to mitigate SAR/InSAR errors, with an emphasis on emerging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence;
2. Advanced processing methodologies for managing and interpreting large-scale SAR data, including approaches to enhance computational efficiency;
3. Application of SAR/InSAR in natural hazard studies, such as earthquake rupture process, volcanic activity assessment, landslide monitoring, and glacial dynamics analysis;
4. Integration of SAR/InSAR data with complementary geophysical datasets—such as GNSS, seismic, multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal data—to enhance hazard monitoring and prediction;
5. Disaster risk reduction, including vulnerability and capacity analysis, as well as resilience-building efforts in hazard-prone regions.

By highlighting these diverse topics, this Special Issue aims to foster a deeper understanding of the role of SAR/InSAR in hazard processes and risk management. We invite contributions that not only push the boundaries of SAR/InSAR technology but also offer practical insights into how these tools can be applied to real-world hazard scenarios, contributing to the advancement of disaster risk science.

Dr. Zhangfeng Ma
Dr. Haipeng Luo
Dr. Jihong Liu
Dr. Chenglong Li
Dr. Yosuke Aoki
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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.

• SAR/InSAR
• space geodesy
• earthquake
• landslides
• volcano
• multiple source data integration
• natural hazards
• geological disasters
• risk assessment