GPS Solutions

, Volume 8, Issue 3, pp 140–151 | Cite as

Tropospheric corrections to SAR interferometry from GPS observations

Original Article
First Online:
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Accepted:

Abstract

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) techniques have been recognized as an ideal tool for many ground deformation monitoring applications. However, the spatially and temporally variable delay of the radar signal propagating through the atmosphere is a major limitation to accuracy. The dominant factor to be considered is the tropospheric heterogeneity, which can lead to misinterpretation of InSAR results. In this paper, a between-site (BS) and between-epoch (BE) double-differencing algorithm for the generation of tropospheric corrections to InSAR results based on GPS observations is tested. In order to correct the radar results on a pixel-by-pixel basis, the GPS-derived corrections have to be interpolated. Using experimental data it has been found that the inverse distance weighted and kriging interpolation methods are more suitable than the spline interpolation method. Differential corrections as large as several centimeters may have to be applied in order to ensure sub-centimeter accuracy for the InSAR result. The algorithm and procedures described in this paper could easily be implemented in a continuous GPS network data center. The interpolated image of BS, single-differenced tropospheric delays can be derived as a routine product to assist radar interferometry.

Keywords

Kriging Inverse Distance Weighted Prediction Location Tropospheric Delay Advanced Land Observation Satellite 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

Acknowledgements

SCIGN and its sponsors, the W.M. Keck Foundation, NASA, NSF, USGS and SCEC, as well as Japan’s Geographical Survey Institute are acknowledged for providing the GPS data used in this study. Mr. Yufei Wang is thanked for his assistance with the interpolation algorithms.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2004

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.School of Surveying and Spatial Information SystemsThe University of New South WalesSydneyAustralia

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