Silvia Bianchini

University of Florence | UNIFI · Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra

Spaceborne-based monitoring for environmental purposes has become a well-established practice. The recent progress of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors, including through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel-1 constellation, has enabled the scientific community to identify and monitor several geohazards, including subsidence ground defor...

Satellite radar remote sensing techniques are non-invasive methodologies that can be effectively used for diagnostic purposes, measuring displacements, and monitoring cultural assets, architectural structures, and archaeological areas without injuring their integrity. The environmental condition and hydrogeological hazard in the Italian territory c...

Introduction: Sinkholes are ground collapses that can cause significant damage to infrastructure and buildings. Part of the risk represented by sinkholes is related to their abruptness and the difficulty in spotting in advance their exact location within a sinkhole-prone area. For this reason, urban planning informed by an accurate risk mapping and...

A continuous monitoring system of ground deformation, based on radar images acquired by ESA (European Space Agency) Sentinel-1 constellation, is active over the Tuscany Region (Central Italy). The potential of repeat-pass satellite SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) interferometry has been exploited to investigate spatial patterns and temporal evolutio...

The UNESCO Chair on Prevention and Sustainable Management of Geo-Hydrological Hazards, University of Florence has been a member of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) since 2002. It was designated as one of World Centres of Excellence (WCoE) for Landslide Risk Reduction five times for 2008–2011, 2011–2014, 2014–2017, 2017–2020 and 2020...

Satellite radar interferometric techniques are non-invasive remote sensing methods without material contact with manufacts and with high data sampling, so that they can be profitably used for measuring and periodically monitoring millimetric deformations of architectural structures without affecting their integrity. In particular, this work propose...

This paper includes a critical review of the existing literature on the use of satellite SAR imagery for subsidence analysis. Land subsidence, related to multiple natural and human-induced processes, is observed globally in an increasing number of areas. Potentially leading to severe impacts on economics and the environment, subsidence has attracte...

This work presents a sinkhole susceptibility and risk assessment mapping in Guidonia-Bagni di Tivoli plain (Italy), a travertine sinkhole-prone area where sudden occurrences of sinkholes have happened in past and recent times. We collected a point-like sinkhole inventory and we considered a series of different sinkhole-controlling and precursory fa...

Velocity is one of the most important parameters to evaluate the damaging potential of a mass movement, but its assessment, especially for extremely rapid landslides, is a complex task. In the literature, several models to assess mass movement velocity exist, but they usually require many detailed parameters, and therefore, they are applicable only...

The continuous monitoring of displacements occurring on the Earth surface by exploiting MTInSAR (Multi Temporal Interferometry SAR) Sentinel-1 data is a solid reality, as testified by the ongoing operational ground motion service in the Tuscany region (Central Italy). In this framework, anomalies of movement, i.e., accelerations or deceleration as...

In Italy, three different operational continuous monitoring experiences based on the exploitation of Multi Temporal Synthetic Aperture Radar data (MTInSAR) Sentinel-1 data are here depicted, and the results obtained in one year have been analysed. Tuscany region (Central Italy) has been the first region to implement such service, followed by Valle...

Multi-Temporal Satellite Interferometry (MTInSAR) is gradually evolving from being a tool developed by the scientific community exclusively for research purposes to a real operational technique that can meet the needs of different users involved in geohazard mitigation. This work aims at showing the innovative operational use of satellite radar int...

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) can be combined to achieve different goals, owing to their main principles. Both enable the collection of information about ground deformation due to the differences of two consequent acquisitions. Their variable applications, even if strictly related...

The free availability of Sentinel-1 satellite radar images,combined with the wide-area coverage, the hugebenefits-cost ratio, the short revisiting time and thenon-invasiveness allows a continuous monitoring ofground displacements. In Italy, Sentinel-1-based contin-uous monitoring activities are operating in three regionsand a possible chain for a p...

The UNESCO Chair on Prevention and Sustainable Management of Geo-Hydrological Hazards, Department of earth Sciences, University of Florence has been a member of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) since 2002 and was designated as one of World Centres of Excellence (WCoE) for Landslide Risk Reduction four times for 2008–2011, 2011–2014,...

On May 25th, 2016, following a massive water leakage from the city water supply pipeline a portion of the urbanized riverbank collapsed along the Arno River in the city centre of Florence (Italy), UNESCO World Heritage site. Understand the dynamics driving the landscape evolution (from the slope up to the riverbank) is useful to know the historical...

The free availability of Sentinel-1 satellite radar images, combined with the wide-area coverage, the huge benefits-cost ratio, the short revisiting time and the non-invasiveness allows a continuous monitoring of ground displacements. In Italy, Sentinel-1-based continuous monitoring activities are operating in three regions and a possible chain for...

In this work we exploited Sentinel-1 satellite radar images processed by means of Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI) techniques for the evaluation of landslide geohazard and impact on a mountainous region. In particular, we used PSI data as starting point in a working chain whose final goal is the estimation of the potential worth of loss o...

A continuous monitoring system of ground deformation, based on radar images acquired by ESA (European Space Agency) Sentinel-1 constellation, is active over the Tuscany Region (Central Italy). The potential of repeat-pass satellite SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) interferometry has been exploited to investigate spatial patterns and temporal evolutio...

Underground mining is one of the human activities with the highest impact in terms of induced ground motion. The excavation of the mining levels creates pillars, rooms and cavities that can evolve in chimney collapses and sinkholes. This is a major threat where the mining activity is carried out in an urban context. Thus, there is a clear need for...

The consequences of landslide events, which are among the most widespread natural hazards worldwide, are relevant in both economic and civil issues. The Italian territory is one of the main representatives. For this reason, the study of landslide-induced damage and its monitoring by remote sensing data are effective tools to improve the knowledge o...

Identification and classification of landslides is a preliminary and crucial work for landslide risk assessment and hazard mitigation. The exploitation of surface deformation velocity derived from satellite synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) is a consolidated and suitable procedure for the recognition of active landslides over wide are...

Landslides recurrently impact the Italian territory, producing huge economic losses and casualties. Because of this, there is a large demand for monitoring tools to support landslide management strategies. Among the variety of remote sensing techniques, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) has become one of the most widely applied for l...

Multi-Temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (MTInSAR) data offer a valuable support to landslide mapping and to landslide activity estimation in mountain environments, where in situ measures are sometimes difficult to gather. Nowadays, the interferometric approach is more and more used for wide-areas analysis, providing useful informati...

In the last decade satellite remote sensing has become an effective tool for monitoring geo-hazard-induced ground motions, and has been increasingly used by the scientific community. Direct and indirect costs due to geo-hazards are currently rising, causing serious socio-economics and casualty losses. Therefore, creating a priority list turns out t...

Il presente lavoro è stato svolto nell’ambito dell’accordo “Attività di monitoraggio del rischio idrogeologico nel territorio della regione Toscana” stipulato il 06 dicembre 2017, ai sensi dell’art. 15 della legge 7 agosto 1990, n. 241, e dell’art. 6 della legge 24 febbraio 1992, n. 225, tra la Regione Toscana, il Dipartimento della Protezione Civi...

Il presente lavoro è stato svolto nell’ambito dell’accordo “Attività di monitoraggio del rischio idrogeologico nel territorio della regione Toscana” stipulato il 06 dicembre 2017, ai sensi dell’art. 15 della legge 7 agosto 1990, n. 241, e dell’art. 6 della legge 24 febbraio 1992, n. 225, tra la Regione Toscana, il Dipartimento della Protezione Civi...

Multi-temporal interferometric Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI) techniques derive from the elaboration of satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images and represent a useful tool to detect ground millimetric movements over wide areas; thanks to non-invasiveness and high accuracy. However, PSI data are relative measurements estimated al...

This study aimed at evaluating and mapping Ground Subsidence Susceptibility (GSS) in the Grosseto plain (Tuscany Region, Italy) by exploiting multi-temporal satellite InSAR data and by applying two parallel approaches; a bivariate statistical analysis (Frequency Ratio) and a mathematical probabilistic model (Fuzzy Logic operator). The Grosseto plai...

The European Space Agency satellites Sentinel-1 radar and Sentinel-2 optical data are widely used in water surface mapping and management. In this work, we exploit the potentials of both radar and optical images for satellite-based quick detection and extent mapping of inundations/water raising events over Shkodër area, which occurred in the two la...

The results of the continuous monitoring of ground deformation throughout the Tuscany region using radar images acquired by the Sentinel-1 satellite constellation of the European Space Agency (ESA) are presented here. This new monitoring approach, based on systematic imagery processing and analysis of deformation time series, is discussed at region...

Satellite interferometric data are widely exploited for ground motion monitoring thanks to their wide area coverage, cost efficiency and non-invasiveness. The launch of the Sentinel-1 constellation opened new horizons for interferometric applications, allowing the scientists to rethink the way in which these data are delivered, passing from a stati...

This work describes a new procedure aimed to semi-automatically identify clusters of active persistent scatterers and preliminarily associate them with different potential types of deformational processes over wide areas. This procedure consists of three main modules: (i) ADAfinder, aimed at the detection of Active Deformation Areas (ADA) using Per...

Nowadays advanced multi-temporal interferometric approaches such as PSI (Persistent Scatterers Interferometry) derived from the processing of space-borne SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) images represent an effective tool to detect terrain movements and provide millimetric ground measurements over large scenes thanks to their wide-area coverage, non-...

The 6-days repeatability of Sentinel-1 constellation allows building up an interferometric stack with unprecedented velocity. Easily updatable hot-spot analyses, frequently repeated following the update of Sentinel-1 images, represent very useful tools for MTInSAR (Multi-Temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) data analysis. Mountain reg...

The investigation of large landslides in high alpine environments is often hindered by the difficult accessibility of the mountainous terrain. Efforts are typically concentrated on the remote measurement of the surface displacements, in order to define the general slope dynamics and identify phases of increasing activity. The characterization of su...

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) techniques have been long exploited for detecting and mapping slow-moving ground surface displacements due to their millimeter accuracy, non-invasiveness and wide area coverage. A review on different applications of Persistent Scatterers InSAR approaches, proposed and applied over Tuscany region (Ital...

The use of InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) products has greatly increased in the last years because of the technological advances in terms of both acquisition sensors and processing algorithms. The development of multi-interferogram techniques and the availability of free SAR analysis tools has significantly increased the number of...

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry represent the most important space geodetic techniques usually exploited to measure millimetric ground deformation on earth surface at both local and wide-area scale. SAR images processed with persistent scatterers interferometry (PSI) multitempora...

Landslides are one of the most relevant geohazards worldwide, causing direct and indirect costs and fatalities. Italy is one of the countries most affected by mass movements, and the Molise region, southern Italy, is known to be susceptible to erosional processes and landslides. In January 2003, a landslide in the municipality of Agnone, in the Col...

We present the continuous monitoring of ground deformation at regional scale using ESA (European Space Agency) Sentinel-1constellation of satellites. We discuss this operational monitoring service through the case study of the Tuscany Region (Central Italy), selected due to its peculiar geological setting prone to ground instability phenomena. We s...

Landslides are among the most important and frequent natural calamities that cause severe socio-economic and human losses. After earthquakes, landslides are responsible for the greatest number of casualties and the largest amount of damage to man-made structures. On average, southern Italy is affected by a high spatial density of landslides due to...

This paper provides a step-by-step analysis and discussion of the ‘PSI-based matrix approach’, a methodology that exploits ground deformation velocities derived through Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) for the assessment of the state of activity and intensity of extremely to very slow landslides. Two matrices based on historical and recent...

Several damage-assessment approaches are profusely present in literature, mainly focused on landslide andsubsidence effects. Landslides, differently to subsidence affecting only built-up areas featured by peculiarcharacteristics, are important natural hazards damaging structures and infrastructures in both urban and rural areasworldwide. Landslide...

This paper provides a step-by-step analysis and discussion of the 'PSI-based matrix approach', a methodology that exploits ground deformation velocities derived through Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) for the assessment of the state of activity and intensity of extremely to very slow landslides. Two matrices based on historical and recent...

SAFETY is a two-years European project started the 1st January 2016 and ended the 1st January 2018. The general aim of the project was to develop a methodology and tools in order to exploit Sentinel-1 data for detecting and monitoring the activity state of geohazards (e.g. landslides, volcanic and subsidence) and evaluating their impact on built-up...

In this manuscript, an integrated strategy that exploits both phase and amplitude features of satellite SAR (synthetic aperture radar) images and ground data is proposed for deriving the deformation field induced by a complex landslide that affected part of the village of Ponzano (Abruzzi Region, Central Italy). The February 12, 2017, landslide was...

The detection of active movements that could threat the infrastructures and the population is one of the main priorities of the risk management chain. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) techniques represent one of the most useful answers to this task; however, it is difficult to manage the huge amount of information derived from the i...

The evaluation of landslide specific risk, defined as the expected degree of loss due to landslides, requires the parameterization and the combination of a number of socioeconomic and geological factors, which often needs the interaction of different skills and expertise (geologists, engineers, planners, administrators, etc.). The specific risk sub...

This work is focused on deformation activity mapping and monitoring using Sentinel-1 (S-1) data and the DInSAR (Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) technique. The main goal is to present a procedure to periodically update and assess the geohazard activity (volcanic activity, landslides and ground-subsidence) of a given area by ex...

The accurate evaluation of landslide-induced damage is a necessity for planning of proper and effective mitigation measures. It requires the implementation of field investigations to identify structural failures to more effectively trace landslide boundaries. Many methods have been proposed to classify landslide-induced damage of buildings. The exi...

The mission of the SAFETY European project is to provide to Civil Protection Authorities (CPA´s) the capability of periodically evaluating and assessing the potential impact of geohaz-ards on prone sites, and specifically rockfalls. We present the methodology applied in a strategic road (GC-200) located in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). We h...

This work is focused on geohazard mapping and monitoring by exploiting Sentinel-1 (A and B) data and the DInSAR (Differential interferometric SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar)) techniques. Sometimes the interpretation of the DInSAR derived product (like the velocity map) can be complex, mostly for a final user who do not usually works with radar. The...

This paper aims at detecting terrain movements in landslide-affected and landslide-prone zones and their damaging effects on the urban fabric. The case study is Volterra area in Tuscany region (Italy), extended up about 20 km 2 and extensively affected by diffuse slope instability. Firstly, the spatial distribution and typifying of the landslides w...

Multisystem remote sensing techniques were exploited to provide a comprehensive overview of Volterra (Italy) site stability with regards to its landscape, urban fabric and cultural heritage. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) techniques allow precise measurements of Earth surface displacement, as well as the detection of building defo...

In this study, we present the detection and characterization of ground displacements in the urban area of Pisa (Central Italy) using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) products. Thirty RADARSAT-2 and twenty-nine COSMO-SkyMed images have been analyzed with the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) algorithm, in order to quantify the ground subs...