top of page
Terra-Motion-3-Permafrost.png

TECHNOLOGY

​Our game-changing method is based on the big data analysis of satellite radar data.​ Follow the links or explore below to learn more about our technology and how we can help you.

INTERFEROMETRIC SAR

INTERFEROMETRIC SAR

Remote interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is a cost-effective, wide-area method for measuring subcentimetre rates of surface deformation. This geodetic method utilizes synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data acquired from instruments mounted aboard Earth-orbiting satellites. Ground deformation can then be extracted from engineered differences of phase between pairs of images taken at different periods in time.  

image.png

Conventional InSAR 

APSIS
What We Offer
image.png

APSIS™ InSAR  

APSIS™ 
Advanced Pixel System using Intermittent SBAS

APSIS™ is the next generation of Terra Motion’s award-winning ISBAS (Intermittent Small Baseline Subset) capability. Sensitive to millimetric rates of deformation, it is capable of measuring over the widest range of land cover classes including urban, agriculture, forestry, and natural surfaces.

​​

​

With APSIS™ we offer:

  • High-resolution maps of land deformation.

  • The maximum possible density of measurements over urban and rural areas alike.

  • Average motion and full time-series measurements resolved into vertical and horizontal components to fit the needs of the user.

  • Low-volume raster files for easy manipulation in open-source and commercial GIS systems.

  • Support for local, regional, and national monitoring solutions.

For larger rates of motion, we also offer an InSAR method that uses interferogram stacking, designed to work best over areas of good and persistent reflectivity.

 

You can see how the two methods compare below.

Range of Movement & Applicability

APSIS InSAR

Displacement rates less than a few cm/year. All land cover types.

Interferogram Stacking

Larger displacement rates of decimetres/year. Works best in areas with persistent reflectivity.

Minimum Number of SAR Images

30

10

Spatial Resolution

Sentinel 1: 20 m or 90 m

(2.5 m resolution can be achieved with high-resolution data)

Sentinel 1: 10 m
 
(2.5 m resolution can be achieved with high-resolution data)

Maximum Area of a Single Processing

20 m data: 20 km x 25 km

90 m data: 80 km x 80 km
(or equivalent km²)

10 m data: 10 km x 10 km
(or equivalent km²)

Movement Components

1D (Line of Sight) or 2D (Up-Down and East-West) depending on data availability.

Two independent data sets acquired from ascending and descending geometries covering the same time epoch are required for a 2D analysis.

Output Format

Output Products

GeoTiff raster(s) map in an appropriate projection

Average Velocity:  A single GeoTIFF quantifying the average rate of motion over the observation period. This is calculated using a linear model of deformation.

Time-series:  A stack of N GeoTIFFs, where N is the number of images processed. The files measure the relative height change / cumulative deformation of the surface with respect to the first image. This is calculated using a non-linear model of deformation.

bottom of page