Measuring ground deformation of the tropical volcano, Ibu, using ALOS-PALSAR data

The ability of radar to penetrate cloud is utilized to measure ground deformation related to volcanic activity of the tropical Ibu Volcano, Indonesia. Ground deformation in the vicinity of the volcano is believed to be related to subsurface magma activity. Besides cloud cover, the high density of vegetation, which is common in rainforests, is also a major obstacle for studying ground deformation in Indonesia. Therefore, a longer wavelength such as L-band radar data is suitable to address these problems. Using L-band differential interferometry it was found that there was an inflation-deflation region around the volcano, especially in the crater region before the eruption.