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Applications of bistatic radar to volcano topography – A review of 10 years of TanDEM-X

February 1, 2021

The TanDEM-X satellite mission has revolutionized DEM generation from spaceborne synthetic aperture radar. In addition to the primary objective of generating a consistent digital elevation model with global coverage and unprecedented accuracy, the mission has acquired time series of topographic data over several volcanoes, providing an excellent opportunity to test the use of this innovative dataset for volcano monitoring and research. In this article, we review the utilization of the single-pass TanDEM-X data for studying various kinds of volcanic activity, such as basaltic lava flows, the formation and destruction of lava domes and related pyroclastic density currents, and subsurface magma withdrawal and intrusion. We then consider the uses of these data for hazard assessment and forecasting. Our goal is to highlight the importance of timely and repeated topographic information in volcanology, and to suggest the development of future spaceborne bistatic synthetic aperture radar satellite missions, such as ESA's Earth Explorer 10 candidate mission, “Harmony.”

Publication Year 2021
Title Applications of bistatic radar to volcano topography – A review of 10 years of TanDEM-X
DOI 10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3055653
Authors Julia Kubanek, M. Poland, Juliet Biggs
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
Index ID 70230071
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Volcano Science Center