Terrafirma is a pan-european ground motion information service in
support of policies aimed at saving lives, improving safety and
reducing economic loss.
The project has
utilised the archive of ERS SAR scenes held by ESA to produce
Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) motion maps with
interrogatable 12 year histories for each of the measurement points
which has persistently scattered back satellite radar energy throughout
the stack of scenes.
Increasingly ENVISAT
ASAR data will be integrated to continue the data acquisition to the
present, providing the unique ability to map near-vertical ground
motion with sub-centimetric precision. Stage 1 of Terrafirma saw the
successful consolidation of suppliers and users of InSAR ground motion
information products, engaging with around 40 geo- organisations in 25
countries, with two successful international educational workshops.
Stage 2 is now under negotion between ESA and NPA, with a similar core
team, to extend the cover of ground motion hazard monitoring to a
selection of urban areas around EU member states and enhance the focus
on landslide and seismic hazards.
(Credits NPA Group)