Pat McConnell, Bob Lynch and D. Nazarenko

Atlantis Scientific Inc.

20 Colonnade Road, Suite 110

Nepean, Ont, Canada, K2E 7M6

Tel: (613) 727-1087, fax: (613) 727-5853

e-mail: marco.van_der_kooij@atlantis-scientific.com

In the last decade repeat-pass SAR Interferometry (INSAR) has been demonstrated as a tool for acquisition of elevation (DEM) and highly accurate deformation information that can be used in many application areas.

Since 1991 the European Space Agency has collected a significant database of ERS-1 and ERS-2 data that has been a source of many demonstrations of this technology. The database still is and will continue to be a valuable source for assessment of historical deformation for applications such as land subsidence, mining, tectonic movement and ground movement. A tandem mission of ERS-1 and ERS-2 was designed specifically for DEM generation. A large database of ERS tandem data was collected since May 1995 and has become an important source for generation of DEMs from space. The Japanese JERS SAR system has collected a useful database of L-band SAR data that can be used operationally for InSAR applications. The Canadian RADARSAT system is available since 1996 and has unique features that make it useful for DEM generation in dry terrain (Fine beam mode) and deformation monitoring (various beam modes).

Since 1995 Atlantis Scientific has developed and implemented procedures for operational mapping using repeat-pass InSAR technology and has built relationships with end-users in various application areas such as oil and gas, telecom and military. This has resulted in a growth of value-added services.

The presentation will focus on the methodology used and will provide an overview of examples. It will include a discussion of the potential of future SAR systems such as SRTM, ENVISAT and RADARSAT-2.