InSAR digital terrain models for mining areas based on Sentinel-1 imagery. A case study in Căliman area

Rezumat

Although not intended at first, SAR satellite technology has been used for digital terrain models (DTM) generation and displacement monitoring for the last 30 years starting with the launch of the first RADAR imaging satellite by the European Spatial Agency (ESA), ERS-1. Currently, there is a suite of satellites available for these applications, with ESA’s Sentinel-1 being one of the most accessible and exploited by scientists due to its wide and free of costs availability. The C-band repeatpass interferometer is considered unsuitable for DTM generation due to its acquisition geometry. In this study, a DTM based on Sentinel-1 imagery for the former sulphur quarry mine in Căliman Mountains is derived in order to demonstrate the potential of the dataset for time and cost effective
monitoring of large areas.