LT-1 SAR Satellite Constellation for Permafrost Deformation Monitoring Along the Tibetan Plateau Engineering Corridor

Abstract

The Tibetan Plateau stands as one of China's largest middle and low latitude permafrost regions. However, the effects of global warming and human activities have led to permafrost thawing, inducing surface instability and posing significant threats to infrastructure and indigenous communities. The deployment of Lu Tan-1 (LT-1), China's premier L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, offers a novel opportunity to assess these changes. This paper evaluates the deformation of critical engineering corridors, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR) and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway (QTH), utilizing time-series InSAR techniques with LT-1 SAR constellation data. We introduce both Stacking InSAR and a multi-baseline persistent scatterer multitemporal (MT-InSAR) method to enhance permafrost and engineering corridor deformation detection capabilities. Results obtained through the MT-InSAR approach reveal line-of-sight (LOS) deformation velocities of permafrost in the Beiluhe region ranging from -90 mm/y to approximately 70 mm/y, with an average velocity amplitude of 0.06 m/y. Differential displacement between alpine meadows and alpine deserts across the Beiluhe region is successfully discerned using LT-1 SAR data. Deformation velocities of QTR, QTH were found to be lower than that of permafrost, with average velocities of 0.027 m/y. These findings underscore the LT-1 SAR constellation's potential to serve as a valuable SAR data source for monitoring engineering corridor deformation within the Tibetan Plateau permafrost region.