Synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) is a technology that has been widely used in many areas, such as topographic mapping, land and resource survey, geological exploration, disaster prevention and mitigation, volcanic and seismic monitor and so on. Landslide, as a representative geohazard, include a wide range of phenomena involving downhill ground movement. InSAR, a technology which can measure surface deformation at the millimeter level over serveral days or years, is suitable to detect landslides with chronical and widespread movements. In this chapter, we introduce main process methods of InSAR data, including Persistent Scatter Interferometry (PSInSAR) and Distributed Scatter Interferometry (DSInSAR). A study area, Daguan County Town, one of the most landslide-prone areas in China is induced to demonstrate the practicability of InSAR in detecting landslides. Combined InSAR results with geological, geotechnical and meterological data, the distribution of landslide in Daguan County in spatial and temporal dimensions would be displayed. We also coupling numerical modeling and InSAR for characterizing landslide movements under multiple loads. The numerical results revealed that body loads dominated the cumulative downhill movements by squeezing water and air from voids, and precipitation caused seasonal movements with the direction perpendicular to the slope surface.
Part of the book: Landslides