Glacier dynamics with InSAR

Sentinel‑1 ascending/descending geometry and dN=0 decomposition

research
Audited status of the Vilcanota InSAR workflow and transfer to Cordillera Blanca.

Advanced diagnostic

Implemented architecture

The workflow integrates HyP3/MintPy ascending and descending series, tropospheric correction, spatial referencing, LOS products, temporal pairing, east–vertical decomposition under dN=0, AOI and elevation-band statistics, atlases and trend tables.

33ascending acquisitions
35descending acquisitions
40 mcommon resolution
−0.95approximate determinant

Signal and detection capability

Monthly relative vertical displacement medians compared with the stable-terrain InSAR residual
Audited examples: +0.23 cm in December 2023 and −0.58 cm in January 2024; stable residual 0.63–0.65 cm.

Monthly vertical signals lie within or close to the noise floor. The publishable contribution must focus on cumulative products, elevation profiles, quality, uncertainty and multi-sensor comparison. A final regional dU rate is not yet reported.

Physical restriction

dU is relative vertical motion of coherent scatterers under dN=0. It is not Eulerian elevation change or mass balance. Comparison with ICESat‑2 requires common windows, rates/cumulative displacement and coherent slow-flow zones.

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