PR-420-153722-R01 Pipeline Right-of-Way Ground Movement Monitoring from InSAR

Longwall mining induces large surface motion that may impact active pipelines. Typical remediation for longwall mining involves shutting down and exposing the pipeline. The use of InSAR has the potential to provide accurate measurements confirming the expected ground movement that will occur with the mining operations. Used correctly, with an appropriate survey design, InSAR can provide extremely high densities of ground movement over time. Exploiting the wide-area capabilities of InSAR could become an important part of integrity management for pipelines where longwall mining is a consideration. InSAR surveys are well suited to the observation of spatially and temporally smooth movements. These movements can be very small (millimetres in months) or larger in areal extent and movement. We have previously shown the ground movement (of 9.8 ft in 12 years) along a pipeline associated with an enhance oil recovery operation. This work examines some of the design considerations necessary to observe fast, large scale deformation with InSAR. This is accomplished through modelling and through the examination of data captured over a pipeline/longwall mine in Pennsylvania. The qualitative description of the passage of the miner is very good. The local ground conditions in Pennsylvania make a more thorough examination of the ground movement available from SAR less accurate than it would be in regions better suited to InSAR measurements (for instance Wyoming).