Application of Radar Interferometry for Measuring the Surface Deformation of Southern Kumaun, India

Abstract:

The Kumaun area is a part of the Himalayan mountain belt which is located on the Uttarakhand state, north-west India. In this study we focus on the deformation of "Lesser Himalaya", "Siwalik" and Ganga Plain from the north to the south, respectively. Siwalik is the deformation front of the Himalayan orogene which is bounded by HFT (Himalayan Frontal Thrust) to the south and MBT (Main Boundary Thrust) to the north.

Since there is no any geodetic network in this area, INSAR (Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar) method is the most convenience and high efficient technique to observe surface deformation of this area. We use the ERS 1 and 2 images acquired from 1992 to 1999, ENVISAT images from 2003 to 2010, and as well as ALOS image from 2007 to 2010 of study area to carry out a series of analysis. As a result of lacking of the seismic data and others geodetic measurement in the region, our INSAR and GPS preliminary results are the first observation of this area, which reveals the obviously different deformation pattern along some geological structures and can be applied for further discussion. The result also indicates that even though the Kumaun area is a seismic gap, the structures in this area are active and cause the surface deformation rate about maximum 15mm/yr (LOS velocity).