Interferometric Characterization of Areas Damaged by the 1995 Kobe Earthquake Using Satellite SAR Images

The coherence analysis of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) onboard a satellite was applied to detect earthquake damage distribution. We investigated the microwave scattering characteristics of areas damaged by the 1995 Kobe earthquake using satellite JERS-1/SAR images whose swath width and spatial resolution are approximately 100km and 30m, respectively. According to the difference in backscattered intensity and coherence from interferometric analysis of SAR images taken at different times, we found that the characteristics of backscattering property of damaged areas showed significant variations. Therefore, the images obtained by remote sensing SAR can be a powerful tool for post-disaster management. Finally, we introduce a recent airborne SAR system which provides 1.5m high-resolution images based on interferometry and full-polarimetry and present an example.