Site-Specific InSAR Analysis

Space-borne SAR scenes typically cover hundreds of square kilometres, yet most civil-engineering projects and deformation processes are local. Site-Specific InSAR Analysis is Fragile Srl's tailor-made service for these cases: it processes satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) acquisitions, including free Sentinel-1 data, over a small area of typically 5–10 km², with parameters optimised for the specific problem, so that measurements can reach millimetre accuracy on a dense network of points and non-linear displacement trends can be detected together with displacement maps.

The service usually runs in two steps. A historical analysis reconstructs the deformation pattern in space and time and sets the update frequency for near-real-time monitoring, which Sentinel-1's 6-day revisit makes possible. Fragile combines its RAINS approach (spatially continuous deformation maps, also in rural areas) with MT-SBA, a Small Baseline Subset technique that yields displacement time series for points on buildings and infrastructure. Results are interpreted in their geological and geomorphological context.

Typical subjects are single landslides, local subsidence, settlement over underground excavations and slope deformation in mining areas. Results can inform the design of ground-based alert systems, engineering projects and legal actions. Historical displacement data also supports geological risk-based asset evaluation for insurers, re-insurers and real estate agencies; for the real estate market Fragile offers this with Area Proxima Srl. Named site-specific projects include work for Italferr (an alpine slope interacting with a new railway track), Romagna Acque, ENSER, Studio GEORISK (hydropower structures in Ecuador) and the Emilia-Romagna regional civil-protection agency.