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Localization of deformation prone sites in the Himalayas using multi-temporal InSAR and Sentinel-1 images
  • Ashutosh Tiwari,
  • Avadh Narayan,
  • Onkar Dikshit
Ashutosh Tiwari
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

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Avadh Narayan
Dr
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Onkar Dikshit
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
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Abstract

Over the last two decades, the Himalayan region is affected by deformation events such as landslides and land subsidence, spread over different regions located within the Himalayas. The spatial distribution of these events may well depend on the tectonics occurring beneath, which requires understanding of long-term deformation over large areas. Studies related to the identification of deformation zones has earlier been carried out using conventional methods to identify deformation zones. However, we need efficient methods to update these earlier generated maps, which may require adding later events, which may also belong to different class of events left unencountered earlier. In this study, we make use of Sentinel-1 interferometric wide swath (IW) datasets from the European Space Agency to localize deformation prone sites in the Himalayan region. With over seven years of acquisition (2014-2021) and large coverage (~270 km) of the dataset, we attempt to monitor and understand the deformation activities occurring in various parts of the Himalayas. This involves processing gigantic stacks of interferograms generated from a large time series of IW images, which may require devising better processing strategies. and further analysis to generate a map showing sites affected by different types of deformation events. This information can be used to identify sites which require critical monitoring (using field surveys) and rescue. The upcoming NISAR mission from NASA and ISRO is also focused towards understanding deformation activities in the Himalayas, and the proposed study may also benefit some of the studies planned for the NISAR mission.