Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a satellite remote sensing technology for mapping ground displacement. SAR satellites emit radar pulses towards the Earth’s surface and record the reflections. The recorded data includes the reflection intensity and phase for each pixel, measured in radians.

After subsequent images are acquired, pairs of images are processed using the phase component to reveal ground and infrastructure displacement. Image processing involves differencing the relative phase measurements between the images, removing unwanted signals, and converting the result into metric and imperial standard values. The precision of the resulting values depends on the wavelength chosen for imaging. The intensity of the data isn’t used for InSAR processing, but it can be used for very rapid displacement and moment tracking beyond the limitations of InSAR.

Request an InSAR Feasibility Assessment