GPS and InSAR Time Series Analysis: Deformation Monitoring Application in a Hydraulic Engineering Resettlement Zone, Southwest China

Abstract

Booming development of hydropower in China has resulted in increasing concerns about the related resettlement issues. Both global positioning system (GPS) and persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series analysis are applied to measuring the magnitude and monitoring the spatial and temporal variations of land surface displacement in Hanyuan, a hydraulic engineering resettlement zone, southwest China. The results from the GPS monitoring system established in Hanyuan match well the digital inclinometer results, suggesting that the GPS monitoring system can be employed as a complement to the traditional ground movement monitoring methods. The InSAR time series witness various patterns and magnitudes of deformation in the resettlement zone. Combining the two complementary techniques will overcome the limitations of the single method.