A comparative case study of MTInSAR approaches for deformation monitoring of the cultural landscape of the Shanhaiguan section of the Great Wall

Heritage Science

Wei Zhou¹  Fulong Chen¹  Hang Xu² 

[1] Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100094, Beijing, China;International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage (HIST) under the Auspices of UNESCO, 100094, Beijing, China;Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100094, Beijing, China;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 101408, Beijing, China;

关键词: MTInSAR;    Architectural heritage;    Sustainability;    The Great Wall;    Shanhaiguan;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40494-021-00543-y

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

The Great Wall of China is one of the largest architectural heritage sites globally, and its sustainability is a significant concern. However, its large extent and diverse characteristics are challenges for deformation monitoring. In this study, the Shanhaiguan section of the Great Wall was investigated in a case study to ascertain the damage and potential hazards of the architectural site. Two standard multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar interferometry (MTInSAR) technologies, including persistent scatterer SAR interferometry (PSInSAR) and small baseline subset (SBAS) SAR interferometry, were used for deformation monitoring using high-resolution TerraSAR-X data acquired in 2015–2017. The results of the two MTInSAR approaches reveal the health condition of the Great Wall. The Shanhaiguan section was stable, but local instabilities caused by rock falls were detected in some mountainous areas. In addition, the applicability of PSInSAR and SBAS was evaluated. The performance analysis of the two approaches indicated that a more reliable and adaptable MTInSAR technique needs to be developed for monitoring the Great Wall. This study demonstrates the potential of MTInSAR technology with high-resolution data for the health diagnosis of heritage sites with a linear structure, such as the Great Wall.

【 授权许可】

CC BY