Short-Term Surface Deformation on the Northern Hayward Fault, CA, and Nearby Landslides Using Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (PolInSAR)

In this study, we analyze 25 RADARSAT-2 images from ascending and descending geometries to study the creep rate on the Hayward fault and landslide motions near Berkeley, CA. We applied a coherence optimization technique from polarimetric synthetic aperture radar interferometry (PolInSAR) to increase the accuracy of the measurements. We resolve 3–5 mm/year of motion along the Hayward fault, in agreement with earlier creep estimates. We identify a potential motion on secondary fault, northeast and parallel to the Hayward fault, which is creeping at a lower rate of ~1.5 mm/year. In addition, we identify a number of landslides along the hills east of the fault that agree with earlier results from advanced interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) analysis and field investigations. We investigate four particular slope instabilities, one of which was marked as moderately active, and three as highly active, by earlier field investigations. The resolved along-hill slope displacement is estimated at ~23 mm/year. Our results demonstrate that PolInSAR is an effective method to increase the interferometric coherence and provide improved resolution of deformation features associated with natural hazards.
This research was funded by the NSERC and Aon Benfield/ICLR IRC in Earthquake Hazard Assessment, an NSERC Discovery Grant, and an Ontario Early Researcher Award. PJG also acknowledges support from a Banting postdoctoral fellowship (Government of Canada).