page_title: Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar
section_title: Applications
hierarchical_section_title: Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar / Applications
caption_attribution_description: PIA03458: Lost Hills, California Interferogram
context_page_description: Interferometric synthetic aperture radar, abbreviated InSAR, is a radar technique used in geodesy and remote sensing. This geodetic method uses two or more synthetic aperture radar images to generate maps of surface deformation or digital elevation, using differences in the phase of the waves returning to the satellite or aircraft. The technique can potentially measure millimetre-scale changes in deformation over spans of days to years. It has applications for geophysical monitoring of natural hazards, for example earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides, and in structural engineering, in particular monitoring of subsidence and structural stability.
caption: Rapid ground subsidence over the Lost Hills oil field in California. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
exif: {}