Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, vol. 20, no. 3

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Vol. 20 No. 3 (2026): Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

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Submitted
Aug 12, 2025
Accepted
Mar 5, 2026
Published
Apr 21, 2026
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

InSAR-Based Monitoring of Ground Movements above Cavern Underground Gas Storage Sites: A Polish Case Study

https://doi.org/10.7494/geom.2026.20.3.79
Jan Blachowski
Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, Wrocław, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2630-3459
Dariusz Głąbicki
Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, Wrocław, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9787-4614
Piotr Grzempowski
Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, Wrocław, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0162-8759
Aleksandra Kaczmarek
Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, Wrocław, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3552-2506
Anna Buczyńska
Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, Wrocław, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4440-8070
Karolina Owczarz
Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, Wrocław, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6525-1834
Jörg Benndorf
TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Faculty of Geosciences, Geoengineering and Mining, Institute of Mine Surveying and Geodesy, Freiberg, Germany
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2002-8639

Corresponding Author(s) : Aleksandra Kaczmarek

aleksandra.kaczmarek@pwr.edu.pl

Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, Vol. 20 No. 3 (2026): Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

Abstract

Ground displacement monitoring is a key aspect of assessing the impacts of underground gas storage (UGS). Conventional approaches are based on geodetic methods that, while providing high accuracy, are limited in spatial coverage and temporal resolution. This study assesses the suitability of synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) as a complement to standard ground displacement monitoring and identifies a method with sufficient accuracy to assess ground displacement conditions and facility safety. A comparative analysis was conducted using European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) data and independently derived Sentinel-1-based time series generated with the small baseline subset (SBAS) and persistent scatterer InSAR (PSI) methods. The analysis of a cavern UGS facility located in northern Poland spanned a five-year period from 2019 to 2023 and included error analysis and significance testing of differences between the methods. Observed displacement rates across the study area ranged from −4.3 mm/year for the SBAS method to −0.4 mm/year for PSI. Although the absolute values of the estimated velocities differed among the methods, the differences between the modeled deformation rates were statistically insignificant. The results confirm that InSAR can supplement geodetic monitoring and help investigate seasonal ground deformations associated with gas injection and withdrawal cycles as well as environmental processes, capturing patterns that discrete geodetic measurements may miss.

Keywords

EGMS PSI SBAS comparative analysis spatial coverage
Blachowski, J., Głąbicki, D., Grzempowski, P., Kaczmarek, A., Buczyńska, A., Owczarz, K., & Benndorf, J. (2026). InSAR-Based Monitoring of Ground Movements above Cavern Underground Gas Storage Sites: A Polish Case Study. Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, 20(3), 79–103. https://doi.org/10.7494/geom.2026.20.3.79
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