Summer School in InSAR – time series processing and deformation modelling – If you need InSAR… MasTer it !

The European Center for Geodynamics and Seismology (ECGS) is organising a
Summer School in InSAR, time series processing and deformation modelling entitled
“If you need InSAR… MasTer it !”.

  • When: May 22-26 2023
  • Where: Luxembourg city (details will follow)

For who:

PhD candidates, postdocs or scientists involved in SAR/InSAR processing and who want to learn the MasTer Toolbox (an automatic InSAR and ground deformation time series processing software) and DefVolc (a 3D inverse modelling software).

See the details below for more explanations about these software.
The summer school is not open to commercial users.
A maximum of 20 participants will be accepted.

Application:

  • by a email to ndo@ecgs.lu before February 22, 2023.
  • participants are invited to send their application with a short description of their background, current position, and motivation to apply to the summer school (max 1/2 page).

Selection:

  • the selection will be made according to the relevance of the applications
  • selection will be closed as soon as the quota is reached.

Cost:

Participation is free of charge.
In addition, the organisation will take in charge for the accepted participants, from Monday 22 to Friday 26 of May:

  • the accommodation
  • breakfasts and lunches
  • an ice-breaking dinner

Participants are responsible for their travel, extra nights (if any) and dinners.

Requirements:

  • participants must have at least some basic knowledge in Linux or macOS command line
  • lectures will be given in English. Manual and documentations are written in English. Support will also be available in French during the hands-on exercices if needed.
  • participants must bring a Mac or Linux computer. There is no strict minimal hardware required but InSAR and modelling are computers’ ressources consuming: 8 GB of RAM and 1TB of disk would be fine for the school. However, the more RAM and hard disk space you have, the easiest and fastest it will be for you (envisage an external drive if needed).
  • Participants’s computers will be preferably connected to the Internet through wired connections (Ethernet-switch). For maximum speed bring a Gigabit-Ethernet adapter if needed (Mac users !).

    • For operating MasTer Toolbox:

  • MasTer requires several external tools such as gdal, GMT, Python3, snaphu… For the sake of efficiency, and to ensure correct and complete installation, accepted participants will be provided with an installer prior to the summer school in order to prepare their computers. Their installation will be checked at the summer school.
  • participants can bring a small set of images from a satellite and/or a site of their interest to perform MasTer hands-on exercises.

For operating the DefVolc pre and post-processor

  • a version of gmsh more recent than 2.10.1.
  • Matlab Runtime installed corresponding to Matlab version R2022a
  • Matlab Runtime downloadable at: https://www.mathworks.com/products/compiler/matlab-runtime.html

Deadlines:

  • applications open until February 22 2023 or until the quota is reached
  • decision: March 3 2023
  • Summer School: May 22-26 2023

Speakers:

  • Valérie Cayol (Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Clermont Ferrand)
  • Dominique Derauw (Centre Spatial de Liège)
  • Maxime Jaspard (European Center For Geodynamics and Seismology)
  • Nicolas d’Oreye (European Center For Geodynamics and Seismology)
  • Sergey Samsonov (Natural Resources Canada)
  • Delphine Smittarello (European Center For Geodynamics and Seismology)

Tentative program:

Monday May 22 AM:

  • Arrival and welcome of the participants
  • Lunch
  • PM: introduction to InSAR and MasTer Engine ; MasTer Toolbox installation on participant’s computers

Tuesday May 23

  • AM: MasTer Toolbox : architecture, DEM, masks, parameters and processing of individual interferograms
  • Lunch
  • PM: MasTer Toolbox : InSAR mass processing ; MSBAS ground deformation time series processing ; time series of amplitude images processing
  • Ice breaking dinner

Wednesday May 24

  • Lunch
  • PM: MasTer Toolbox : web page (share/display results) and data manipulation (plots and usage with QGIS)

Thursday May 25

  • AM: Hands-on exercises with images of interest to the participant or provided data
  • Lunch
  • PM: Deformation modelling using DEFVOLC software and/or hands-on exercices

Friday May 26 AM:

  • Deformation modelling using DEFVOLC software and/or hands-on exercices
  • Lunch
  • Closure

Take Away:

  • participants will be provided a full version of the MasTer Toolbox, as well as its installer and manual
  • participants will be granted an access to a GitHub repository where they will be able to get further updates about MasTer Toolbox.
  • participants will be provided with a compiled version of the software required to run the DefVolc pre and post-processor.

More informations

Feel free to send us any question at the following address: ndo@ecgs.lu

MasTer Toolbox:

MasTer toolbox is a tool dedicated to the processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. It is mostly designed to allow optimized mass processing of SAR interferometry (InSAR) and the production of 2/3D ground deformation time series. However, MasTer toolbox can also be used for the production of Digital Elevation Models (DEM), coherence maps and amplitude images time series e.g. for land cover or geomorphological changes, flood mapping etc.

MasTer toolbox is made of three components:an InSAR command line processor (the MasTerEngine), the MSBAS processor (for the computation of 2/3D time series of ground deformation) and a bunch of shell scripts for automatizing all tasks, from data downloading to updated displacement maps and time series and possible automatic display on a dedicated webpage.

MasTer is able to process nearly all the SAR sensor currently available (ERS1 & 2, EnviSAT, ALOS, ALOS2, RadarSAT, CosmoSkyMed, TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X (incl. bistatic and pursuit mode), Sentinel1 A & B, Kompsat5, PAZ, SAOCOM, ICEYE…).

The Multidimensional Small BAseline Subset (MSBAS) time series software allows inverting simultaneously several interferometric SAR time series acquired along different acquisition modes, including different sensors, SAR wavelengths, incidence angles, polarization etc., to solve for horizontal and vertical component of the ground displacement.

For more information about MasTer Toolbox, see e.g. (Smittarello et al. 2022), (Derauw et al. 2020)
To see an exemple of MasTer results, visit:
https://terra3.ecgs.lu/defo-domuyo/

DefVolc:

DefVolc is a software for inverse modeling of volcano displacement data (InSAR, GNSS), whether the sources of displacement are fracture (fluid filled fracture or faults) or massive reservoirs.

DefVolc is based on a 3D Boundary element method for elastic media combined with inversions, based on near-neighborhood inversion algorithms. Topographies are taken into account as well as interactions between sources. Boundary conditions are stress changes.

Defvolc consist of a pre-and post processors. Inversions can be run on the on demand on the University Clermont-Auvergne Clusters.

Defvolc manuals and compiled programs are available to registered users on the web site: https://www.opgc.fr/defvolc/
Users can register with the project code “anonymous”.