SBIR Phase I: Operational Monitoring of Large-Area Critical Infrastructure

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是降低能源、交通和公用事业等关键基础设施部门资产的地质灾害风险。更具体地说，拟议的技术将使用卫星雷达测量和探测地面运动在观测区域覆盖很长距离和穿越不同地形和土地类型的应用中更加实际。该创新旨在证明多种成像频率和偏振的组合处理可以改善收集的信息，并且可以使用全球导航卫星系统（GNSS）数据的融合来帮助了解。天基卫星雷达干涉测量技术在测量空间敏感结构（如埋地管道、地基和铁路道砟）位移方面的有效性将在非常大的区域和线性距离上得到证明。本项目开发的技术可能对上述部门产生积极影响，使监测能力比传统方法更及时、更具成本效益。地理空间技术还可以使资产运营商在遇到地质灾害威胁时更加主动，降低致命和破坏环境的故障的频率。这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在解决天基卫星雷达干涉测量的主要缺陷，作为监测关键基础设施资产地表运动威胁的一种手段。虽然针对特定地形类型的干涉测量方法已经得到了充分的记录和验证，但在具有不同地形和雷达散射机制的非常大的区域内产生相干地面运动结果的方法尚未成功部署。此外，将多个干涉观测组合在一起分解地面运动是将相对视距卫星观测转化为与资产监测相关的地面运动分量的重要步骤，但很少受到研究关注。这项研究旨在证明使用多种成像频率和偏振，并结合它们的干涉测量结果，在不同植被程度的地区创建更连续的地面运动视图的有效性。该项目还可能证明，结合小基线子集和持续散射干涉方法可以提高土地类型变化产生各种散射机制的地区的分辨散射体密度。该团队还试图展示GNSS数据在参考设置过程中的使用和准确性，因为洞察力被转化为关于大地测量参考的绝对运动分量。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to lower the geohazard risks for assets within critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, transportation, and utilities. More specifically, the proposed technology will make measuring and detecting ground motion with satellite radar more practical in applications where the observed areas cover very long distances and traverse varying terrain and land types. The innovation seeks to demonstrate that the combined processing of multiple imaging frequencies and polarizations can improve the information collected and that the fusion of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data can be used to aid insight. The efficacy of space-based satellite radar interferometry in measuring shifts in spatially-sensitive structures such as buried pipelines, foundations, and rail track ballast will be demonstrated over very large areas and linear distances. The technology developed in this project may have a positive impact on the aforementioned sectors by enabling monitoring capabilities that are timelier and more cost-effective than traditional approaches. The geospatial technology may also enable asset operators to be more proactive when it comes to geohazard threats, lowering the frequency of fatal and environmentally-damaging failures.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to address the key shortcomings of space-based satellite radar interferometry as a means to monitor surface motion threats to critical infrastructure assets. While interferometric approaches for specific types of terrain have been well documented and validated, approaches that produce coherent ground motion results over very large areas with varying terrain and radar scattering mechanisms have not been successfully deployed. Furthermore, combining multiple interferometric observations together to decompose ground motion has received little research attention despite being an important step in translating the relative line-of-sight satellite observations into ground motion components relevant to asset monitoring. This research effort seeks to demonstrate the efficacy of using multiple imaging frequencies and polarizations and combining their interferometric results to create a more continuous view of ground motion over areas with varying degrees of vegetation. This project may also demonstrate that combining both small baseline subset and persistent scatter interferometric approaches can improve the density of resolved scatterers over areas where land type variations create a diverse range of scattering mechanisms. The team also seeks to demonstrate the use and accuracy of GNSS data in the reference setting process as insights are translated into absolute motion components about the geodetic reference.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.