Assessment of the Areas of LOS Surface Deformations in the Ukrainian Black Sea Region Using Sentinel-1 SAR Data

Earth Surface Processes, Geodynamics, and Subsurface Exploration

Authors

First and Last Name Academic degree E-mail Affiliation
Alina Fedorchuk Ph.D. alina.v.fedorchuk [at] lpnu.ua Lviv Polytechnic National University
Lviv, Ukraine
Viktoriia Kotliarova No viktoriia.kotliarova.nz.2022 [at] lpnu.ua Lviv Polytechnic National University
Lviv, Ukraine

I and my co-authors (if any) authorize the use of the Paper in accordance with the Creative Commons CC BY license

First published on this website: 02.07.2026 - 14:38
Abstract 

The collapse of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant on June 6, 2023, led to substantial hydrological and environmental transformations in southern Ukraine and emphasized the importance of remote sensing approaches for monitoring potential ground surface deformations in the aftermath of the disaster. This study presents the application of the InSAR method for the spatial analysis of LOS deformations within the Ukrainian Black Sea region using Sentinel-1 satellite radar data. The study uses Sentinel-1 SAR images acquired on three dates: June 6, 2022, June 13, 2023, and June 7, 2024. Interferometric processing was performed in the SNAP software environment, while further generation of mosaic LOS deformation fields, removal of invalid values, transformation to the UTM projection, field centering, and quantitative area assessment were carried out in Surfer. Separate grids were generated to distinguish positive and negative deformations, which were then used to estimate the extent of the respective deformation zones. The results indicate that during the 2022–2023 period, within the valid part of the scene, negative LOS deformations covered approximately 79% of the valid area, while positive deformations accounted for about 21%. During the 2023–2024 period, negative LOS deformations also dominated, covering about 73% of the valid area, while positive deformation areas increased to about 27%. The considerable proportion of invalid areas (NoData), which ranges from approximately 47% to 49% of the scene area, indicates the need for further refinement of the results by considering signal coherence, atmospheric effects, and land cover characteristics. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of the InSAR method for monitoring post-disaster changes in the Earth’s surface.

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