The European Space Agency organised its third ESA International Workshop on ERS SAR Interferometry and its first Workshop on ASAR interferometry: Advances in SAR interferometry from ERS and Envisat missions.

The workshop brought together ESA Principal Investigators (ERS AO-3, Category 1 and, AO Envisat) Scientists, students working in the field of SAR interferometry to representatives from National, European and International Space Agencies.

At the workshop, researchers explained how they are using this ability to monitor volcanoes and earthquake zones, aid oil and gas prospecting, observe urban subsidence and measure the slow flow of glaciers.

Data from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments, like those flown aboard the ERS spacecraft and Envisat, are the basis for a technique called SAR interferometry, or InSAR for short. InSAR involves combining two or more radar images of the same ground location in such a way that very precise measurements – down to a scale of a few millimetres – can be made of any ground motion taking place between image acquisitions.

Objectives

The workshop objectives:

• Provided a forum for investigators to present results of on-going AO research project activities
• Discussed the use of InSAR products for scientific research and applications development
• Initiated and encourage close collaboration between individual research groups
• Stimulated continuing research and encourage publication of the findings
• Assessed the available data analysis tools
• Formulated recommendations for algorithm and new products development
• Reviewed and assessed the maturity and operational readiness of Interferometry Applications

Themes

The workshop themes were:

• Volcanoes
• Long-term differential interferometry
• DEMs
• Thematic mapping
• Methodology and techniques
• Ice motion
• Tectonics
• Land motion

Files

Fringe 2003 papers and posters (147 MB)