Collaborative Research: Space-based detection of sinkhole activities in Central Florida

在过去的一年里，佛罗里达州中部的两起天坑事件引起了媒体的极大关注。2013年3月，塞夫纳一所房屋下的一个天坑坍塌并被吞没。卧室里的一个人。2013年8月，天坑坍塌摧毁了迪士尼世界附近的一个度假区建筑群。然而，这些戏剧性的事件只是从源源不断的财产损失中脱颖而出的极端例子，在人为抽取地下水的时候，财产损失会激增。探测初期的天坑活动，特别是可能导致突然坍塌的活动，是一项具有挑战性的任务。然而，最近合成孔径雷达(合成孔径雷达)卫星探测和分辨率能力的提高，使得如今能够在天基上探测到地球表面的微小运动？？S，其水平为毫米/年。在这个项目中，将使用德国和意大利的合成孔径雷达卫星在佛罗里达州中部上空获得的合成孔径雷达观测。使用先进的时间序列分析技术对数据进行干涉处理，将提供地表运动的详细地图，并将能够探测可能表明天坑活动的局部下沉区。将使用探地雷达勘测对天基天坑探测进行核查。成功检测到坍塌前的天坑活动将成为将佛罗里达州中部和世界各地其他天坑易发地区的生命和财产危害降至最低的非常重要的工具。佛罗里达州中部的天坑活动是一种重大自然灾害，导致严重的财产损失，偶尔还会造成生命损失。干涉合成孔径雷达(InSAR)将用于监测佛罗里达州中部的天坑活动，以探测下沉地点，并在天坑坍塌之前解决可能的前兆沉降问题。德国卫星TerraSAR-X和意大利卫星星座Cosmo-SkyMed将负责获取选定区域的高分辨率观测(亚米级像素分辨率)，重复采集间隔为10-20天。使用InSAR时间序列技术对数据进行干涉处理，将提供精度为1-2毫米/年的高空间分辨率地表移动地图，这将使探测局部沉降和更好地了解可能是天坑坍塌前兆的活动。天基数据将用于选择地点进行亚米级探地雷达调查。这一有限规模项目的目的是提供一种概念证明，即在佛罗里达州中部富有挑战性的亚热带植被环境中，可以使用InSAR观测来探测前兆天坑活动。天基探测天坑活动的成功将导致进一步利用InSAR观测来减轻佛罗里达州中部和世界各地其他天坑易发地区的天坑灾害。

Over the past year two sinkhole events in central Florida attracted significant media attention. In March 2013, a sinkhole collapsed beneath a house in Seffner and ?swallowed? a person from his bedroom. In August 2013 a sinkhole collapse destroyed a resort complex near Disney World. These dramatic events, however, are just extreme examples that stand out from a steady stream of property damage, which spikes at times of anthropogenic groundwater withdrawals. Detecting incipient sinkhole activity, particularly that which may result in sudden collapse, is a challenging task. However, recent improvements in the detection and resolution capabilities of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites enable nowadays space-base detection of small movements of the Earth?s surface at the millimeter/year level. In this project SAR observations acquired over central Florida by German and Italian SAR satellites will be used. Interferometric processing of the data using advanced time series analysis techniques, will provide detailed maps of surface movements and will allow detection of localized subsiding areas that may be indicative of sinkhole activity. Verification of the space-base sinkhole detection will be conducted using Ground Penetrating Radar surveys. Successful detection of pre-collapse sinkhole activities will serve as very important tool to minimize life and property hazard in central Florida and other sinkhole-prone areas worldwide.Sinkhole activity in central Florida is a major natural hazard, resulting in severe property damage and occasionally in life loss. The Inferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) will be used to monitor sinkhole activities in central Florida, in order to detect subsiding sites and resolve possible precursory subsidence prior to sinkhole collapse. The German satellite TerraSAR-X and the Italian satellite constellation Cosmo-SkyMed will be tasked to acquire high-resolution observations (sub-meter pixel resolution) over selected areas, with repeat acquisition intervals of 10-20 days. Interferometric processing of the data using InSAR time series techniques will provide high spatial resolution maps of surface movements with 1-2 mm/yr accuracy, which will enable detection of localized subsidence and better understand activity that may be precursory to sinkhole collapse. The space-based data will be used to select sites for study with sub-meter scale ground-penetrating radar surveys. The purpose of this limited scale project is to provide a proof-of-concept that InSAR observations can be used to detect precursory sinkhole activity in the challenging sub-tropical vegetation-rich environment of central Florida. Successful space-based detection of sinkhole activity will lead to further utilization of InSAR observations for sinkhole hazard mitigation in central Florida and other sinkhole-prone areas worldwide.