Monitoring Natural and Anthropogenic Geohazards with SAR Big Data: Successful Experiences Using the Geohazards Exploitation Platform

This work provides Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) big data investigations based on ESA's Geohazards Exploitation Platform (GEP) and the Parallel Small BAseline Subset (P-SBAS) Interferometric SAR (InSAR) on-demand service. Six Sentinel-1 IW SAR stacks for a total of 981 scenes acquired in 2014–2020 were processed to generate advanced ground deformation products providing key geo-information on natural and anthropogenic processes affecting 4 study areas in the Mediterranean: Tunis (Tunisia), the town of Gela (Italy), Methana volcano (Greece), and Crotone and the Capo Colonna promontory (Italy). The identified geohazards comprise subsidence due to land drainage, reclamation and compaction, soil consolidation and infrastructure settlement following engineering works, groundwater pumping for irrigation and industrial use, hydrocarbon extraction, slow-moving landslides and erosion landforms.