Tomographic SAR Reconstruction of a 4D City using TerraSAR-X data

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Engineering - Aerospace Technology, grade: 1,3, Technical University of Munich (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt), course: Photogrammetrie und Fernerkundung, language: English, abstract: Driven by military and civilian applications, the demand of very high resolution mappingand accurate monitoring has increased rapidly over the recent years. Nowadays, it ispossible to create 4D models involving time variations using multiple synthetic apertureradar (SAR) images, combined with interferometric methods. SAR has evolved to satisfya variety of applications for civilian and military users, for example by supportingcatastrophe management, detection of geological changes, monitoring large constructionsites or mines. With the help of SAR data obtained from the TerraSAR-X satellite, infrastructuralmonitoring is made possible from a distance. The benefit of this is thatpotential collapse within mines or tunnels could be prevented. Concrete degradation thatcould lead to building collapse, endangering people's lives can also be identified beforeany catastrophe has the chance to occur.Currently, Tomographic SAR (TomoSAR) is the most advanced and competent interferometricSAR (InSAR) method in the area of urban monitoring. TomoSAR makesmonitoring in 4D possible by creating the 3D position with the motion parameters.This thesis applies a new TomoSAR technique and method, developed by ZHU and hercolleagues, 2012 [1], on a very high resolution (VHR) spotlight data stack in the area ofBerlin. The images were taken by the TerraSAR-X satellite (Germany) over a timeframeof 3 years. The result is a 3D point cloud of the observed area, with the velocity of linearmotion and the amplitude of periodic motion.The result of the work that forms the basis for this thesis, is the realization of highdeformation and motion in Berlin's infrastructure, especially around Berlin's main station,on bridges (" Überflieger Brücke") and railways - often up to 10mm.