SAR Interferometric Point Target analysis and application to the monitoring
of land subsidence in the Venice Lagoon
T. Strozzi, U. Wegmuller, C. Werner
Gamma Remote Sensing, Gumligen, Switzerland
P. Teatini,
Dept. Mathematical Methods and Models for Scientific
Applications, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
L. Tosi
Istituto per lo Studio della Dinamica delle Grandi Masse, CNR, Venezia,
Italy
ABSTRACT
In the Interferometric Point Target Analysis (IPTA) point-like targets that remain phase coherent over time
are identified in a sequence of satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images and used to estimate the
progressive deformation of the terrain with millimetric accuracy. Building upon conventional
interferometric SAR techniques, IPTA overcomes atmospheric delay anomalies and temporal and geometric
decorrelation by exploring the temporal and spatial characteristics of radar interferometric signatures
collected from point targets widely available over urban areas but that can be also found scattered outside
cities and villages. In this contribution the application of IPTA to the monitoring of land subsidence in
the urban and littoral environments of the Venice Lagoon is described. The results achieved using all the
available ERS SAR images acquired between 1992 and 2000 are very significant due to the achieved target
spatial and temporal coverage.
