What are the InSAR datasets available?
| Radarsat-2 Deformation | |
| Ascending, regional | Historical regional InSAR data in the Western and Northern parts of Norway (2010-2018), SBAS |
| Descending, regional | Historical regional InSAR data in the Western and Northern parts of Norway (2010-2018), SBAS |
| Ascending, Bergen area | Historical Regional InSAR data (2010-2018), PSI |
| Ascending, Oslofjord area | Historical Regional InSAR data (2010-2018), PSI |
| Descending, Oslofjord area | Historical Regional InSAR data (2010-2018), PSI |
| Ascending, Trondheim area | Historical Regional InSAR data (2010-2018), PSI |
| Descending, Trondheim area | Historical Regional InSAR data (2010-2018), PSI |
| Sentinel-1 Deformation | |
| Ascending 1 | Nationwide InSAR dataset (2015-2020) |
| Ascending 2 | Nationwide InSAR dataset (2015-2020) |
| Ascending 3 | InSAR dataset (2015-2020) covering parts of northern Norway |
| Descending 1 | Nationwide InSAR dataset (2015-2020) |
| Descending 1 | Nationwide InSAR dataset (2015-2020) |
| Descending 3 | InSAR dataset (2015-2020) covering parts of northern Norway |
| Sentinel-1 Deformation (gammel) | |
| Ascending 1 | Historical nationwide InSAR dataset (2015-2019) |
| Ascending 2 | Historical nationwide InSAR dataset (2015-2019) |
| Ascending 3 | Historical InSAR dataset covering parts of northern Norway (2015-2019) |
| Descending 1 | Historical nationwide InSAR dataset (2015-2019) |
| Descending 2 | Historical nationwide InSAR dataset (2015-2019) |
| Descending 3 | Historical InSAR dataset covering parts of northern Norway (2015-2019) |
Each area is covered by both ascending and descending InSAR datasets since the satellites move in polar orbits around the earth. There are multiple data sources for Sentinel-1 (ascending 1, ascending 2, ascending 3; descending 1, descending 2, descending 3) because there is a high density of satellite orbits over Norway.
The ability to detect ground movement varies from one dataset to another in relation to the radar's measurement geometry. This is further explained.
Which InSAR datasets cover Norway?
Sentinel-1: Data comes from the two satellites Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B from Copernicus, the European Earth Observation Programme.
The polar satellite tracks approach each other near the poles, resulting in a significant overlap in Norway. Therefore, it is possible to create two ascending datasets (ascending 1 and ascending 2) and two descending datasets (descending 1 and descending 2).
These four datasets cover the whole country. In the northernmost areas, there are also a third and fourth dataset (ascending 3 and descending 3)
The fact that there are at least two nationwide datasets of each ascending and descending geometry provides an opportunity to check the quality of the data signal. For example, if a particular movement is seen in more than one dataset, it strongly indicates that the motion is real and not just noise.
Images were taken from October 2014. InSAR does not work over snow-covered areas, therefore only data from months with little snow cover are used, i.e. from ca. June-October, for the nationwide datasets. In a future edition of the map service, data from the whole year will be used in urban areas.
The dataset is updated once a year in the autumn/winter when data from the summer semester has been collected and processed.
Radarsat-2: Data comes from the Radarsat-2 satellite for the period 2010-2018. Unlike Sentinel-1, Radarsat-2 is a commercial satellite.
These Radarsat images were initially purchased for mapping unstable rock slopes located mainly in Western Norway and parts of Tromsø and Finnmark. Data were processed using the SBAS method.
The urban areas of Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim are also covered by InSAR results processed with a method called PSI. Read more about the different processing methods.
Which InSAR parameters are documented in the datasets?
For each InSAR point, several parameters are documented. In the map service, they can be displayed in the time series window (under «View data»). The same parameters are found in downloadable .csv files.
For more information on tour and download features.
| Name | Unit | Description |
| LATITUDE | degree | Latitude (WGS84) |
| LONGITUDE | degree | Longitude (WGS84) |
| HEIGHT | m | Hight |
| Dataset | - | Ascending 1, Ascending 2, Ascending 3, Descending 1, Descending 2, Descending 3 |
| Point ID | - | Unique ID |
| Track | - | Satellite track number |
| Mode | - | Acquisition Mode: 0=IW1, 1=IW2, 2=IW3, 3=EW1 |
| Burst | - | Our internal image reference |
| Latitude | degree | Latitude |
| Longitude | degree | Longitude |
| Height | m | Orthometric height |
| height_wgs84 | m | Ellipsoid height (WGS84) |
| mean_velocity | mm/year | Average velocity along the satellite-to-ground Line of Sight (LoS) |
| Rmse | mm | Mean square error relative to an adapted model (polynomial + seasonal variation) |
| temporal_coherence | - | Quality objectives (between 0 and 1), where high values are best. |
| amplitude_quality | - | Measure the stability of amplitude over time (between 0 and 1), where low values are best. |
| Pixel | - | Column number in SAR (radar) coordinates |
| Line | - | Line number in SAR (radar) coordinates |
| incidence_angle | degree | Angle of incidence from vertical to the satellite-to-earth field of view |
| track_angle | degree | Direction of flight of the satellite (relative to North: 0). Positive values indicate an ascending path. Negative values indicate a descending path. The radar looks 90 degrees to the right in the direction of movement. |
| los_east | - | Eastern component of the radar's point of view unit vector. The values are between -1 and 1 (plus means that the satellite is pointing to the east, minus means that pointing to the west). Closer value to -1 or 1 means higher sensitivity to east-west movements. |
| los_north | - | Northern component of the radar's viewing unit vector. The values are between -1 and 1 (plus means that the satellite is pointing north, minus means it is pointing south). Values closer to -1 or 1 means higher sensitivity in east-west movements. |
| los_up | - | Vertical component of the radar's line of sight unit vector. The values are negative, which means that the satellite is pointing down towards the ground. Values closer to -1 means higher sensitivity to vertical movements. |
| Date (YYYY, MM, DD) | mm | Cumulative movement of the point relative to the reference date which is the first image of the series in most datasets, except in the Sentinel-1 deformation (old) dataset) which has reference in August 2017. Date is displayed in year-month-day format. |
What basemaps and geological maps are available?
The InSAR map service uses base maps and geological maps available through Geonorge's mapping services. More information on the content of these layers can be found at Geonorges webpage.
| Base layers | |
| Blue marble | NASA Blue Marble |
| Norway | |
| Shaded relief, Digital Elevation Model | Shaded relief, Digital Elevation Model |
| Slope angle, Digital Elevation Model | Slope angle > 10 degree |
| Shaded relief, Digital Surface Model | Topographic map |
| Norge i Bilder | Orthophoto (scale correct aerial photos) |
| Statens Kartverk Terrain | Terrain map of Norway |
| Statens Kartverk Topo4 | Shaded relief, Digital Surface Model |
| Statens Kartverk Topo4 Grayscale | Grayscale topographic map |
| Bedrock geology N50 | |
| Bergartsflate 1:50 000 | Bedrock unit map 1:50 000 |
| Bergartsflate hovedbergart 1:50 000 | Main surface rock type 1:50 000 |
| Bergartsgrense 1:50 000 | Lithographic boundary map 1:50 000 |
| Unstable rock slopes | |
| Ustabilt fjellparti - hovedpunkt (faregrad) | Unstable rock slope - hazard level |
| Skredlineament | Landslide lineaments |
| Ustabilt hovedområde - faregrad | Unstable area – hazard level |
| Quarternary geology | |
| Løsmasse flate | Quarternary units 1:50 000 |
| Løsmasse grense | Quaternary unit boundaries 1:50 000 |