Monitoring Horizontal and Vertical Components of SAMARCO Mine Dikes Deformations by DInSAR-SBAS Using TerraSAR-X and Sentinel-1 Data

• Published in: Mining (Basel) Vol. 2; no. 4; pp. 725 - 745
• Main Authors: Gama, Fábio F., Cantone, Alessio, Mura, José C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rouyn-Noranda MDPI AG 01-12-2022
• Subjects: A-DINSAR; Construction; Dams; Deformation; Dikes; Emergency preparedness; In situ measurement; Interferometry; Iron compounds; Landslides & mudslides; Mines; Mining; Mining accidents & safety; SAMARCO; Satellites; SBAS; Sentinel-1; Strain gauges; tailings dam; Brazil
• ISSN: 2673-6489; 2673-6489
• DOI: 10.3390/mining2040040

This article presents an investigation of ground movement measurements based on a combination of TerraSAR-X and Sentinel-1 data, in opposite tracks, aiming to detect ground de-formation of the remaining dikes of Germano mine, after the Fundão dam collapse. The differential interferometry technique SBAS (Small Baseline Subset) was applied to obtain the deformation of the surface in different Line of Sight (LoS), in order to carry out the vector decomposition and generate the deformation measurements in the vertical and horizontal directions. A set of 37 single-look complex (SLC) images of TerraSAR-X (TSX), acquired during the period from 19 February 2016 to 15 May 2017, and 37 SLC images of Sentinel-1, acquired from 8 February 2016 to 15 May 2017, were used to perform this investigation. For the TerraSAR-X interferometric processing, a coherence threshold of 40%, 4 looks in range and 2 looks in azimuth, 1200 m of atmospheric filter, and 10 % of max normal baseline of the critical were used. For the Sentinel-1 interferometric processing a coherence threshold of 26%, 8 looks in range and 2 looks in azimuth, 1200 m of atmospheric filter, and 20% of the of max normal baseline of the critical were used. For both sensors a digital elevation model generated by Pleiades 1-A was used for removing the topographic phase component. The final results were consistent with the topographic in situ measurements, providing key information to make crucial decisions regarding risks, or even mitigation, repairs or emergency response, as well as for a better understanding of the on-going instability phenomena affecting the dikes and dams.