Multi-temporal repeat-pass interferometry for an improved analysis of Arctic glaciers

This paper describes a new technique to separate topography- and displacement-related phase components in SAR interferograms of Arctic glaciers. Compared to standard 4-pass-interferometry, a combination of several interferograms in a least-squares adjustment on the basis of a extended glacier flow model is proposed. The method enables to detect areas with significant changes of glacier flow velocity, supports a detailed accuracy analysis, and allows the estimation of the influence of systematic errors. The paper includes a description of the model, accuracy analysis and an error budget.