InSAR – Dam Safety Considerations and Applications

InSAR Mosul Dam


This webinar will be focused on interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) applications for geotechnical engineers engaged in dam safety. InSAR is a satellite-based, remote sensing technology capable of measuring ground & infrastructure displacement with mm-scale precision. The technology is deployed as an ongoing monitoring tool to help mitigate geotechnical risk across a number of verticals. InSAR is being adopted by geotechnical engineers in mining, oil & gas, transportation, government and urban infrastructure sectors as a means to feasibly identify subtle surface displacements both in the past and present. Such surface displacements provide insights into potential slope instability, internal erosion, landslide induced damage to assets, settlement related failure modes of assets etc. The webinar will introduce the technology methodology, and work into real industry examples/results. Outline:

The InSAR methodology used on a hydroelectric dam may change depending on the target application. Therefore, in order to maximize the success of a program, users must understand the appropriate risk mitigation in which this technology should be applied, and should be equipped with the knowledge of it’s relative strengths/weaknesses. As such, the following topics will be discussed: 

  1. Introduction to InSAR
  2. SAR Satellite Data (Frequencies, wavelengths, precision, resolution)
  3. InSAR Methodology
  4. Strengths/Limitations
  5. Operational case studies

  Eligible for 2 PDHs

Ben Pantony

3vGeomatics

Benjamin Pantony (bpantony@3vgeomatics.com) works for 3vGeomatics Inc. (3vG). 3vG is based in Vancouver, BC and specializes in Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology. 3vG remotely identifies and monitors geohazards over very large areas for ground and infrastructure displacement using satellite images to inform clients of movement, subsidence, and uplift.

William Empson

Senior Dam and Levee Safety Risk Advisor Risk Management Center Institute for Water Resources

USACE

Manuele Pichierri, PhD

Senior R&D Data Scientist

3vGeomatics Inc. Electrical/Geomatic Engineering

Dr. Manuele has 8 years working on the pre and post-processing of airborne and space-borne polarimetric InSAR and optical remote sensing data.

Georgette Hlepas, PhD, PE (Moderator)

National Geotechnical Policy Advisor

US Army Corps of Engineers

Dr. Georgette Hlepas is the National Geotechnical Policy Advisor for the US Army Corps of Engineers and is located in the Headquarters office in DC.  She is also the lead for the USACE Instrumentation and Performance Monitoring Community of Practice and the Chairperson for the USSD Monitoring of Dams and Their Foundations Committee.  She has ~13 years of experience in geotechnical engineering and instrumentation with USACE and has been an instructor of several instrumentation courses.  She has a PhD in Civil and Materials Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois.

Richard Carande

General Atomics

David Cohen

General Atomics

Baron Worsham

USACE

Key:

Complete
Failed
Available
Locked
Webinar
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Evaluation
2 Questions
PDH Certificate
2.00 PDH credits  |  Certificate available
2.00 PDH credits  |  Certificate available