Comparison of Sentinel-1 and RADARSAT-2 Data for Monitoring of Tailings Storage Facilities

Abstract:
Mining operations generate large amounts of waste material. Tailing Storage Facilities (TSFs) use large dam walls to contain mine wastes. The failure rate of TSFs is significantly greater than conventional dams and the effects are often catastrophic. Monitoring TSFs is essential to predict and prevent failures. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar is well suited to the monitoring of TSFs providing an opportunity to compare platforms in order to develop a more comprehensive monitoring program. The aim of this study is to apply both RADARSAT-2 and Sentinel-1 data to determine the impact of spatial resolution on the detection of indicators of failure.