Open AccessMulti-temporal InSAR for transport infrastructure monitoring: recent trends and challenges
Author(s) -
Valentina Macchiarulo,
Pietro Milillo,
Chris Blenkinsopp,
Cormac Reale,
Giorgia Giardina
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
proceedings of the institution of civil engineers. bridge engineering/proceedings of ice. bridge engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.384
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1751-7664
pISSN - 1478-4637
DOI - 10.1680/jbren.21.00039
Subject(s) - interferometric synthetic aperture radar , resilience (materials science) , remote sensing , computer science , risk analysis (engineering) , scale (ratio) , synthetic aperture radar , transport infrastructure , temporal scales , systems engineering , engineering , geography , transport engineering , business , cartography , physics , thermodynamics , ecology , biology
Worldwide, transport infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to aging-induced deterioration and climate-related hazards. Often, inspection and maintenance costs far exceed the available resources, and numerous assets lack any rigorous structural evaluation. Space-borne synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) is a powerful remote sensing technology that can provide cheaper deformation measurements for bridges and other transport infrastructure with short revisit times, while scaling from the local to the global scale. As recent studies have shown InSAR accuracy to be comparable to that of traditional monitoring instruments, InSAR could offer a cost-effective tool for long-term, near-continuous deformation monitoring, with the possibility of supporting inspection planning and maintenance prioritisation while maximising functionality and increasing the resilience of infrastructure networks. However, despite the high potential of InSAR for structural monitoring, some important limitations need to be considered when applying it in practice. In this paper, the challenges of using InSAR for the purpose of structural monitoring are identified and discussed, with specific focus on bridges and transport networks. Examples are presented to illustrate the current practical limitations of InSAR, and possible solutions and promising research directions are identified. The aim of the paper is to motivate future action in this area and highlight the InSAR advances needed to overcome current challenges.