A Feasibility Study of LT-1 SAR Satellite for Permafrost Deformation Monitoring

In this paper, a permafrost deformation monitoring over Tuotuo River Basin, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is conducted using new launched LT-1 satellite SAR data. The permafrost velocity of permafrost was calculated using differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR), Stacking method. The deformation characteristic of alpine meadow, alpine desert, alpine wetland, and thermokarst landscape were extracted and analyzed. To evaluate the performance of the LT-1 SAR data, the permafrost deformation over the study area was monitored using Sentinel-1a SAR data, simultaneously. The DInSAR and Stacking results indicated that the LT-1 can acquire density monitoring points both on the alpine meadow, alpine desert, and mountain region. The deformation of alpine wetland can also be finely monitored, which is unable to be achieved using other SAR satellites. LT-1 could provide a new and powerful SAR data source for permafrost surface deformation monitoring and will greatly enhance the level of permafrost monitoring applications.