SCEC Award Number 25141 View PDF
Proposal Category Collaborative Research Project (Multiple Investigators / Institutions)
Proposal Title Leveraging operational OPERA DISP-S1 product archive to expand and refine time-series InSAR analysis in support of the Community Geodetic Model
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Simran Sangha National Aeronautics and Space Administration Marin Govorcin National Aeronautics and Space Administration Gareth Funning University of California, Riverside
SCEC Milestones A1-1, A1-3, A3-5, A3-6 SCEC Groups CEM, Geodesy, SDOT
Report Due Date 03/15/2026 Date Report Submitted 03/13/2026
Project Abstract
 Over the course of our proposed efforts under SCEC the past several years, we have worked to bridge the gap between research-grade InSAR archives and operational geodetic monitoring for the California plate boundary. While the project initiates the transition to NASA’s Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA) Surface Displacement from Sentinel-1 (DISP-S1) product operational product archive, the primary scientific focus of the past year has been the completion of a statewide surface velocity map derived from the 2014–2023 standardized Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis Sentinel-1 Geocoded Unwrapped Phase products (ARIA-S1-GUNW) archive. This work, detailed in a soon-to-be-submitted publication (Sangha et al., 2026), provides a high-resolution (90-meter) geodetic baseline that captures interseismic strain, shallow fault creep, and anthropogenic subsidence. We present results across nine Sentinel-1 tracks, validated against GNSS observations, and highlight localized deformation dynamics in the Los Angeles Basin and Central California. These findings provide the essential benchmark for ongoing efforts to integrate operational OPERA products into the SCEC Community Geodetic Model (CGM).
SCEC Community Models Used Community Geodetic Model (CGM)
Usage Description Our LOS analysis products were previously also used as an input to the SCEC CGM. To facilitate the production of a combined CGM deformation product, we work to align and reference our updated post-analysis products to GNSS displacement time-series.
Intellectual Merit This project contributes to SCEC’s mission by advancing the CGM through the integration of large-scale InSAR archives. We have established a high-resolution, statewide velocity baseline (2014–2023) and developed workflows to ingest operational OPERA DISP-S1 products. This research advances our understanding of earthquake-cycle processes, including shallow fault creep and off-fault deformation, by providing continuous spatial constraints that complement sparse GNSS networks. By transitioning research-grade analysis into an operational framework, this work provides a scalable foundation for utilizing incoming NISAR data for seismic hazard analysis.
Broader Impacts A collaboration between SCEC and JPL, this project enhances geodetic infrastructure by providing open-access velocity products to the scientific community. Our developments support regional hazard response and resource management, such as monitoring land subsidence in the Central Valley and landslide stability in Los Angeles. We have promoted training through EarthScope workshops and shared technical workflows with federal stakeholders via the OPERA Stakeholder Engagement Program. These efforts help make advanced InSAR products much more accessible, enabling a broader range of researchers and government agencies to monitor infrastructure stability and natural hazards across the California plate boundary.
Project Participants Sangha coordinated with the OPERA team and collaborator David Bekaert, a former Radar Scientist at JPL and OPERA Project Manager and current Copernicus Data Project Manager at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research, to process DISP-S1 across California and advise on analysis of ARIA-S1-GUNW products. Sangha led the efforts to deploy post-analysis workflows to reconstruct time-series and constrain the interseismic velocities. Co-I Marin Govorcin helped to manage these developments and advise on time-series analysis efforts. Co-I Gareth Funning coordinated efforts to compare time-series results generated by this project with other, independent efforts.
Exemplary Figure Figure 1: Mosaic of line-of-sight (LOS) surface velocities from ARIA-S1-GUNW InSAR products spanning 2014–2023. Velocities are estimated assuming a linear rate for nine Sentinel-1 tracks, corrected for tropospheric noise using weather-model-based corrections, and referenced to local GNSS stations (black squares). Coseismic events (yellow stars) are included in the time-series modeling. General agreement is observed between ascending and descending tracks, with LOS rates consistent with independent GNSS estimates (scatter plots, right), providing a robust statewide benchmark for the Community Geodetic Model. Credit: Simran Sangha (JPL), Gareth Funning (UC Riverside), Marin Govorcin (JPL), David Bekaert (VITO).
Linked Publications

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