Repeat-Pass SAR Interferometry With Partially Coherent Targets

By means of the permanent scatterer (PS) technique, repeated spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images with relatively low resolution (about 25 m × 5 m for the European Remote Sensing (ERS) and Envisat satellites) can be used to estimate the displacement (1-mm precision) and 3-D location (1-m precision) of targets that show an unchanged electromagnetic signature. The main drawback of the PS technique is the limited spatial density of targets that behave coherently during the whole observation span (hundreds of PSs per square kilometer in urban site and up to few points in vegetated areas). In this paper, we describe a new approach for multitemporal analysis of SAR images that also allows extracting information from partially coherent targets. The basic idea is to loosen the restrictive conditions imposed by the PS technique. The results obtained in different test sites allowed to increase significantly the spatial coverage of the estimate of height and deformation trend, particularly in extraurban areas.