Mining-Related Subsidence Measurements Using a Robust Multi-Temporal InSAR Method and Logistic Model

Ground subsidence is a representative geohazard in mining areas that threatens human safety and infrastructure. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) was used to measure ground subsidence related to mining activities. However, mining areas are often subjected to severe temporal and geometric decorrelation problems, resulting in sparse persistent scatterers (PS) and lower measurement accuracy. To improve deformation measurements, a robust multi-temporal InSAR (MT-InSAR) method that jointly detects PS and distributed scatterers (DS) in a two-tier network was utilized here. To solve the mismatch in the traditional linear velocity model, a logistic model was introduced for MT-InSAR processing. Forty-four Sentinel-1A SAR images acquired between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 were used to measure ground subsidence in Zhoutaizi Village, Chengde City, Hebei Province, China, which endured geohazards induced and exacerbated by mining activities. We observed that more measurement points were produced using the logistic model (11607) compared with the constant velocity model (10980) in the mining areas with an increase of 5.7%, while the mean value of the standard deviation of the estimated residuals reduced from 1.45 to 1.13 with a decrease of 22%. Results are beneficial for geohazard assessment and management in mining areas.