Catalyst.earth Logo
Catalyst.earth Logo

Applicability of InSAR for Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC)

July 29, 2021
Image of a webinar studio

Questions & Answers


Does a subscription include access to the API and Webapp?

Yes, our subscriptions to CATALYST insights include access to the webapp for visual interpretation and analysis, as well as our API through AWS Data Exchange. 

What quality assurance is performed to ensure the measurements are accurate?

Our team of highly trained SAR scientists and specialists examine the hyper-parameters, input datasets, interferograms and output results against in situ measurements, if available, before new ground displacement measurements are delivered to your through your data feed. 

Are there options to do pilot projects so I can test the validity of the measurements?

Yes, we have a number of ways that you can evaluate the quality of measurements before committing to a 1 year subscription. Contact us at [email protected] to learn more.

Do you require calibrating with GPS stations or in situ measurements to get accurate results?

GPS stations or in situ measurements are not required, but they can be used to calibrate the measurements, which often improves accuracy and to validate the measurements that are being delivered to you.

Are you compensate for terrain and orbital conditions?

We use DEMs to remove the topographic residual phase differences from the local topography, we also perform orbital adjustments to reduce the residual effects from the orbit. 

Are there any adjustment method behind the samples which you show us? As you know measurement could consist redundancy, error, etc. How can we adjust these data?

We are compensating for a number of effects that can contribute to error, such as terrain and orbits, plus we use an SBAS-PSI workflow that only provides measurements for stable targets, which reduces the chance of errors propagating in the results. Furthermore, we can calibrate with in situ measurements to help further remove errors. 

Are there any systematic differences between TerraSAR-X and Sentinel-1?

Yes, there are a number of differences between TerraSAR-X and Sentinel-1. They are two very different datasets and sensors, built and operated by two different organizations, Airbus and ESA, respectively. Both are very suitable for InSAR applications as they both have very stable orbital tubes and provide excellent orbital information. Resolution and price are the main specifications that people consider when selecting a data source.

What do you mean when you refer to displacement, is it only measuring horizontal?

We providevertical displacement measurements. We are looking into horizontal, which would require building a stack from both ascending and descending orbits.

Can I process data in a cloud environment with CATALYST?

Yes. We have a number of options:
Access CATALYST Insights API on AWS Data Exchange
Subscription access to our desktop solution, CATALYST Professional, on virtual machines through cloudeo or geocloud
Access our InSAR algorithms on UP42

Can I measure surface displacement in Oil and gas blowout areas with InSAR?

There are a number of articles that showcase InSAR being used for detecting subsurface blowouts.

Did I understand correctly that CATALYST Insights actually does the InSAR processing and the user/client can just look at the scatterers, risk, etc?

CATALYST Insights is a data service where we use our algorithms and science, as well as our team of specialists to generated the ground displacement measurements and then deliver them as a data feed to our users through our Insights Webapp or API.

What InSAR processing technique do you use for CATALYST Insights?

We use a hybrid model that combines Short-baseline Subset (SBAS) and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI)

envelopephone-handsetcross