Title: QA/QC for Satellite Radar Interferometry: A New Perspective

Speaker: Prof. Ramon Hanssen

Time: 09: 00-09: 30, December 4, 2023

Place: Liangjiang Grand Ballroom 

Abstract: While satellite missions, data services, data availability, and technical innovations continue to thrive, the field of InSAR faces significant challenges in quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC). In fact, there Is currently no consensus on how to assess and control the quality, reliability, and consistency of InSAR information products (IIPs). The terminology of robustness, reproducibility, reliability, and integrity must be introduced to the field of InSAR, though they remain poorly defined at present.This report is on the concept of Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) for both "application-agnostic” InSAR information products, or double-A and "advanced application-aligned products," or triple-A InSAR information products. We will delve into the critical aspect of parameterization choices and scrutinize the prevailing trend of delivering map-based products. In addition to the traditional quality metrics like coherence, we will introduce innovative concepts such as loss-of-lock, robustness, reliability, and integrity. Furthermore, we will demonstrate a remarkable capability: the potential to derive three-dimensional displacement estimates from just two satellite-viewing geometries. This underlines the versatility and depth of information that can be gleaned from InSAR data, broadening its utility beyond conventional expectations.

Biography: Ramon Hanssen (MSc 1993; PhD 2001, cum laude) is Antoni van Leeuwenhoek professor in Geodesy and Earth Observation at Delft University of Technology. His work centres around fundamental and applied problems in geodesy and satellite earth observation. In particular, he pioneered the geodetic use of synthetic aperture radar interferometry, as a high-precision technique to measure deformations of the earth’s surface. His expertise domain should be placed in between the fields of electrical engineering and signal processing on one side, and geophysical applications on the other. The geodetic approach implies a focus on parameter estimation problems, quality control and error propagation, and testing theory. His interest ranges from deformation signals on wide scales, e.g., related to global warming, sea level variability and subsidence, to fine scales, such as the deformation of critical civil infrastructure. He did pioneering work on atmospheric water vapor mapping using radar interferometry, published in Science in 1999. In 2003 he received the Bomford Prize from the International Association of Geodesy. In 2007, he was nominated for an Antoni van Leeuwenhoek-chair. He is author of two patents, and his monograph on radar interferometry is highly cited in the domain, with nearly 3800 citations in 2023. In 2007 he founded a spin-off company, now known as SkyGeo, for the operational geodetic monitoring of assets. Since 2012, he is visiting professor at Wuhan University, China. With 450+ publications and more than 10.000 citations 

Hanssen is a leading expert in his domain.