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Monitoring surface changes in discontinuous permafrost terrain using small baseline SAR interferometry, object-based classification, and geological features: a case study from Mayo, Yukon Territory, Canada

Permafrost-induced deformation of ground features is threating infrastructure in northern communities. An understanding of permafrost distribution is therefore critical for sustainable adaptation planning and infrastructure maintenance. Considering the large area underlain by permafrost in the Yukon Territory, there is a need for baseline information to characterize the permafrost in this region. In this study, the Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) technique was used to identify areas of ground movement likely caused by changes in permafrost. The DInSAR technique was applied to a series of repeat-pass C-band RADARSAT-2 observations collected in 2015 over the Village of Mayo, in central Yukon Territory, Canada. The conventional DInSAR technique demonstrated that ground deformation could be detected in this area, but the resulting deformation maps contained errors due to a loss of coherence from changes in vegetation and atmospheric phase delay. To address these limitations, the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) InSAR technique was applied to reduce phase error, thus improving the deformation maps. To understand the relationship between the deformation maps and land cover types, an object-based Random Forest classification was developed to classify the study area into different land cover types. Integration of the InSAR results and the classification map revealed that the built-up class (e.g., airport) was affected by subsidence on the order of −2 to −4 cm. The spatial extent of the surface displacement map obtained using the SBAS InSAR technique was then correlated with the surficial geology map. This revealed that much of the main infrastructure in the Village of Mayo is underlain by interbedded glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine sediments, the latter of which caused the most damage to human made structures. This study provides a method for permafrost monitoring that builds upon the synergistic use of the SBAS InSAR technique, object-based image analysis, and surficial geology data.