Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Remote Sensing Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Role of SAR/InSAR Techniques in Investigating Ground Deformation

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 3962

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xue Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of China, Beijing 100085, China
Interests: SAR data; deformation; InSAR/GNSS; time series; seismic dynamics

Dr. Teng Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: InSAR; radar imaging; geodesy; natural hazards
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The study of ground deformation caused by natural and anthropogenic processes has always been a major focus of geodetic and geological research communities and is essential for understanding geodynamics and mitigating disaster. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) techniques have emerged as powerful tools in this field, enabling the monitoring of the physical properties and processes of surface deformation with unprecedented accuracy at local and global scales with high resolution, a wide coverage area and all-weather capabilities.

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new Special Issue of Remote Sensing that aims to collect the latest research on SAR/InSAR techniques to monitor and understand ground deformation. Research topics include, but are not limited to, the application of optical, SAR and InSAR to study various geological processes including tectonic activity, volcanic eruptions, landslides and anthropogenic impacts such as mining and groundwater extraction.

We invite you to submit articles on your recent research, including, but not limited to, the following topics:

Integrated monitoring systems for measuring ground deformation (land subsidence, uplift and seasonal movement);
SAR/InSAR applications for monitoring surface deformation associated with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, glaciers and landslides;

The integration of SAR/InSAR data with other geophysical and geological datasets for understanding deformation assessment;

The development of new algorithms and methods for processing and interpreting SAR/InSAR data, including data fusion and machine learning techniques;

Earthquake rupture mechanisms (slip rate, fault length, fault spacing, etc.).

Dr. Xue Chen
Dr. Teng Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

SAR/InSAR
ground deformation
tectonic activities
seismic activities
transient slow-slip processes
geological hazards
optical imagery
data fusion and machine learning

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

26 pages, 13830 KB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Ground Deformation in the Beijing Plain Under the South-to-North Water Diversion Project: Integrating InSAR and ICA

by Yunxiao Liu, Mingliang Gao, Huili Gong, Min Shi, Beibei Chen, Yujia Han, Huayu Guan, Jie Wang, Jiatian Sui and Zheng Chen

Remote Sens. 2026, 18(7), 1077; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18071077 - 3 Apr 2026

Viewed by 225

Abstract

Following adjustments in regional water resource management policies and changes in hydrogeological conditions, significant shifts have occurred in Beijing’s water consumption patterns, which have effectively mitigated land subsidence and triggered a trend of ground rebound. This study systematically analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics and transition mechanisms of ground deformation (subsidence-rebound) driven by water consumption changes, integrating InSAR, ICA (independent component analysis), and regional hydrogeological data. InSAR time-series analysis derived 2015–2023 Beijing Plain deformation data, with ICA identifying key drivers, supported by hydrogeological interpretation. Three primary patterns emerged: (1) quasi-linear subsidence from persistent deep groundwater overextraction; (2) rebound from Chaobai River basin engineered recharge; (3) “subsidence-to-rebound” dynamics due to reduced shallow groundwater extraction and enhanced precipitation infiltration. The results indicate that a regional rebound emerged 5.5 years after the initiation of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP), which quantifies, for the first time, the direct temporal lag between the initiation of water diversion and the geomechanical deformation response. ICA further revealed that deformation asymmetry (subsidence trend slope > rebound trend slope) correlates with aquifer lithology (clay vs. sand-gravel layers). The results offer a scientific framework for urban groundwater management and subsidence mitigation, not only in Beijing but also in analogous regions globally, highlighting a paradigm shift in ground deformation dynamics under integrated water governance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of SAR/InSAR Techniques in Investigating Ground Deformation)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 5764 KB

Open AccessArticle

Preliminary Analysis of Ground Subsidence in the Linfen–Yuncheng Basin Based on Sentinel-1A and Radarsat-2 Time-Series InSAR

by Yuting Wu, Longyong Chen, Peiguang Jing, Wenjie Li, Chang Huan and Zhijun Li

Remote Sens. 2026, 18(3), 424; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18030424 - 28 Jan 2026

Viewed by 474

Abstract

The Linfen–Yuncheng Basin is located on the southern edge of the Fenwei Fault Zone, influenced by intense tectonic activity, thick Quaternary sedimentation, and anthropogenic disturbance, it exhibits prominent characteristics of ground subsidence and fissure development. However, uncertainties still exist regarding the primary controlling factors of subsidence. This study employs multi-temporal InSAR data, combined with small baseline subset (SBAS–InSAR) technology to invert the high-precision ground line of sight deformation fields, and conducts time-series decomposition analysis using the Seasonal Trend Decomposition (STL) method. The results show that from 2017 to 2025, subsidence was mainly concentrated in the central and southern regions of the basin, with a maximum cumulative subsidence exceeding 200 mm and an average annual subsidence rate of −40 mm/year. Its spatial distribution is highly consistent with major structural zones such as the Zhongtiao Mountain Front Fault and the Linyi Fault, indicating that fault activity exerts a significant controlling effect on subsidence patterns. Groundwater level fluctuations are positively correlated with overall ground subsidence, and the response rate of different monitoring points is constrained by differences in aquifer depth and permeability. Groundwater aquifer points exhibit rapid and reversible subsidence response, while confined aquifer points are affected by low-permeability or compressible layers, showing a significant lag effect. The research results indicate that time-series analysis based on InSAR can not only effectively reveal the subsidence evolution process at different scales, but also provide a scientific basis for groundwater resource regulation, geological disaster prevention and control, and sustainable regional land utilization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of SAR/InSAR Techniques in Investigating Ground Deformation)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 12581 KB

Open AccessArticle

An Efficient RMA with Chunked Nonlinear Normalized Weights and SNR-Based Multichannel Fusion for MIMO-SAR Imaging

by Jingjing Wang, Hao Chen, Haowei Duan, Rongbo Sun, Kehui Yang, Jing Fang, Huaqiang Xu and Pengbo Song

Remote Sens. 2025, 17(18), 3232; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17183232 - 18 Sep 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 845

Abstract

Millimeter-wave multiple-input multiple-output synthetic aperture radar (MIMO-SAR) has been widely used in many scenarios such as geological exploration, post-disaster rescue, and security inspection. When faced with large complex scenes, the signal suffers from distortion problems due to amplitude-phase nonlinear aberrations, resulting in undesired artifacts. Many previous studies eliminate artifacts but result in missing target structures. In this paper, we propose to use chunked nonlinear normalized weights in conjunction with signal-to-noise ratio-based (SNR-based) multichannel fusion to address the above-mentioned problems. The chunked nonlinear normalized weights make use of the scene’s characteristics to separately perform the optimization of different regions of the scene. This approach significantly mitigates the effects of amplitude-phase distortion on signal quality, thereby facilitating the effective suppression of noise and artifacts. Applying SNR-based multichannel fusion solves the problem of missing target structures caused by the chunked weights. With the proposed techniques, we can effectively suppress artifacts and noise while maintaining the target structures to enhance the robustness of system. Based on practical experiments, the proposed techniques achieve the image entropy (IE) value, which reduces by approximately 1, and the image contrast (IC) value is increased by approximately 2~4. Furthermore, the computational time is only about 1.3 times that needed by the latest reported algorithm. Consequently, imaging resolution and system robustness are improved by implementing these techniques. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of SAR/InSAR Techniques in Investigating Ground Deformation)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

30 pages, 26397 KB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Landslide Susceptibility Assessment in the Yalong River Alpine Gorge Region Integrating InSAR-Derived Deformation Velocity

by Zhoujiang Li, Jianming Xiang, Guanchen Zhuo, Hongyuan Zhang, Keren Dai and Xianlin Shi

Remote Sens. 2025, 17(18), 3210; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17183210 - 17 Sep 2025

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1557

Abstract

Dynamic susceptibility assessment is essential for mitigating evolving landslide risks in alpine gorge regions. To address the static limitations and unit mismatch issues in conventional landslide susceptibility assessments in alpine gorge regions, this study proposes a dynamic framework integrating time-series InSAR-derived deformation. Applied to the Xinlong–Kangding section of the Yalong River, annual surface deformation velocities were retrieved using SBAS-InSAR with Sentinel-1 data, identifying 24 active landslide zones (>25 mm/a). The Geodetector model quantified the spatial influence of 18 conditioning factors, highlighting deformation velocity as the second most significant (q = 0.21), following soil type. Incorporating historical landslide data and InSAR deformation zones, slope unit delineation was optimized to construct a refined sample dataset. A Random Forest model was then used to assess the contribution of deformation factors. Results show that integrating InSAR data substantially improved model performance: “Very High” risk landslides increased from 67.21% to 87.01%, the AUC score improved from 0.9530 to 0.9798, and the Kappa coefficient increased from 0.7316 to 0.8870. These results demonstrate the value of InSAR-based dynamic monitoring in enhancing landslide susceptibility mapping, particularly for spatial clustering, classification precision, and model robustness. This approach offers a more efficient dynamic evaluation pathway for dynamic assessment and early warning of landslide hazards in mountainous regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of SAR/InSAR Techniques in Investigating Ground Deformation)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Role of SAR/InSAR Techniques in Investigating Ground Deformation

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI