The application of differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar to identify, measure, and analyze subsidence above underground coal mines in Utah

Subsidence is a major consequence of underground mining. Over 1000 underground coal mines are operating in the United States and affect a surface area of more than 1 million hectares. Surface subsidence associated with underground coal mining is expected to remain a major environmental and engineering issue. The comprehensive subsidence engineering and management to characterize the nature, extent, and magnitude of expected and actual surface displacements are developed while simultaneously identifying subsidence impacts with high risk levels and/or severe consequences. This is a difficult task and one that is currently limited by shortcoming in data collection and assessment. Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) is a growing technology in surface displacement monitoring and has the potential to improve the efficiency and accuracy of subsidence monitoring by significantly increasing the quantity and accuracy of measurement data.