Monitoring surface stability from space
Themes: Aerospace, High Tech
Early stage commercial environment application
A TRL is a measure to indicate the matureness of a developing technology. When an innovative idea is discovered it is often not directly suitable for application. Usually such novel idea is subjected to further experimentation, testing and prototyping before it can be implemented. The image below shows how to read TRL’s to categorise the innovative ideas.
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Why?
Surface stability is important for safety and sustainability. Instability can follow from e.g. gas production or mining, leading to land subsidence in the range of millimetres to centimetres. We developed a technique to observe this from space.
How?
Using a technique called satellite radar interferometry (InSAR), it is possible to detect surface motion with millimetre precision. The transformation of raw satellite data to quantitative information about surface stability is the essence of our research.
When?
We have been involved in development of geodetic deformation analysis using InSAR for the last 15 years. The technique is currently applied to monitor the effects of gas production in Groningen, and other subsidence areas in the Netherlands.
Dr. ir. Sami Samiei Esfahany