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GEOL40830

Academic Year 2026/2027

SAR and InSAR Remote Sensing (GEOL40830)

Subject:
Geology
College:
Science
School:
Earth Sciences
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Alexis Hrysiewicz
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
Online
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Earth Observation through Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing involves using radar satellites to characterise the Earth system from space. In this module, you will use state-of-the-art software to apply SAR/InSAR techniques to problems related to natural hazard assessment (e.g., earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, flooding), land-use change mapping, maritime traffic monitoring, and detecting mm-scale ground motions related to geotechnical engineering problems. The module covers both analysis of SAR backscatter intensity (including SAR polarimetry) and Interferometry of Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). Using data from a variety of SAR satellites (including those launched in recent years), you will understand the creation of SAR imagery and its important parameters, and you will be able to define our own SAR/InSAR workflow and process it according to your objectives. The module outcome is the development of technical skills that are highly transferable to any professional environment involving remote sensing analysis.

This module delivery is online, however, students at UCD can participate in lectures and praticals in person.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the module, you will have learned:
(1) Fundamentals of satellite-based radar systems and their use in earth sciences;
(2) Where to find, and how to access, sources of SAR images in offline and online repositories;
(3) Technical and digital skills in workflows required to process SAR and InSAR data;
(4) Advanced SAR/InSAR applications such as time-series and PolSAR;
(5) How to read and interpret SAR and InSAR products to quantify geohazards and soil characteristics, according to noise;
(6) How to integrate SAR/InSAR images with other geospatial and geo-scientific data sets (e.g., in-situ measurements, other satellite data, etc);
(7) How to synthesise, illustrate and present various lines of remote sensing data by using Geographical Information System software.

Indicative Module Content:

Each week consists of 2 hours of lectures and 3 hours of practical work. During the lectures, concepts and methods of SAR/InSAR remote sensing will be presented in accordance with the state-of-the-art techniques. During the practical exercises, students will analyse their own SAR/InSAR observations (practical exercises will include computations and analyses).

The module is designed so that one SAR/InSAR method is learned each week. At the end of the module, a 6-hour practical session (twice 3 hours) will provide the opportunity to analyse a single geohazard using the different SAR/InSAR methods learnt.

N.B.: The initial schedule may be slightly modified.

------------------------
Week 1: Introduction to the SAR remote sensing

Lecture
- History of the remote sensing methods;
- Overview of the SAR missions;
- Electromagnetic Radiations (waveforms, interactions, etc).

Practical
- Installation of SAR/InSAR tools.

------------------------
Week 2: Basic in SAR remote sensing

Lecture
- SAR concepts (frequency, mode, metadata);
- SAR geometry and signal contributions;
- SAR processing (i.e., radiometric calibration);

Practical
- Computation and analysis of a Sentinel-1 IW SAR image for ship detection (Dublin Bay).

------------------------
Week 3: SAR backscatter time series

Lecture
- Creation of a SAR stack (coregistration, geocoding);
- SAR signal contributions;
- Applications of SAR remote sensing;
- Introduction of the offset tracking method.

Practical
- Analysis of flooding events in France, Winter 2026, with Sentinel-1 data.

------------------------
Week 4: Toolkit in SAR/InSAR

Lecture
- Phasor / matrices (reminder);
- 3D geometry (baselines, range/azimuth space, satellite orbit) in detail;
- Software available.

Practical
- Perpendicular baseline calculation between two SAR acquisitions (Python);
- Decomposition of horizontal and vertical displacements (Python).

------------------------
Week 5: PolSAR

Lecture
- Polarimetric SAR

Practical
- Hidden Amazonia rivers with BIOMASS (PolSAR).

------------------------
Week 6: Basics in InSAR remote sensing

Lecture
- InSAR processing;
- InSAR products (differential phase, coherence, unwrapped phase);

Practical
- Computation of displacements for a volcanic eruption based on InSAR data;
- InSAR for volcano monitoring;
- Decomposition of horizontal and vertical displacements.

------------------------
Week 7: Persistent Scatterers and Small-Baselines approaches

Lecture
- InSAR Persistent Scatterers;
- InSAR Small-Baselines;
- InSAR European Ground Motion Service (EGMS).

Practical
- Computation of InSAR displacement time series over Campi Flegrei/Naples, Italy;
- Comparison with GNSS data;
- Discussion of the origin of displacements;
- Comparison with EGMS.

------------------------
Week 8: SAR/InSAR and Geosciences (1)

Lecture
- Review of three applications of SAR/InSAR remote sensing.

Practical
- Multi-approach SAR/InSAR remote sensing for the Myanmar 2025 earthquake (1).

------------------------
Week 9: SAR/InSAR and Geosciences (2)

Practical
- Multi-approach SAR/InSAR remote sensing for the Myanmar 2025 earthquake (2).

------------------------
Week 10: SAR/InSAR and Geosciences (3)

Practical
- Personal study case (1).

------------------------

Week 11: SAR/InSAR and Geosciences (4)

Practical
- Personal study case (2).

------------------------
Week 12: Assessments

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

16
Practical

33
Autonomous Student Learning

51
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Teaching and learning on this module comprise a set of lectures and practical exercises. After each lecture, the practicals will focus on an application of SAR/InSAR remote sensing (i.e., volcanic eruptions, landslides, vegetation mapping), so that learning will be guided by real applications and research topics carried out by the UCD School of Earth Sciences. This is a 5 ECTS module and involves approximately 100 hours of learner effort. 16 hours of lectures and 33 hours of practical classes (49 contact hours). Students are also expected to commit approx. 51 hours to completing practical exercises and independent work outside of scheduled classes.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Individual Project: Remote sensing individual project on selected study area:
1. Remote sensing computation according to objectives;
2. Analysis and interpretation of results;
3. Report and oral presentation.		 Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
60
 No
Viva Voce: Online interview Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
40
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Written feedback will be provided on the assignment (independent project). Oral feedback will be provided on the assignment (interview).

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