Satellite earth observation enables the monitoring of different types of natural hazards, contributing to the mitigation of their fatal consequences. In this paper, satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images will be used to derive measurements of the deformation of the terrain. The images acquired with the ESA satellite Sentinel-1 are used. Sentinel-1 interferometric SAR data offer a set of unique characteristics, which confer them a great potential in terms of deformation monitoring. These characteristics include a wide area coverage of the Interferometric Wide Swath mode; the 12-day revisiting cycle of Sentinel-1A (6 days with the Sentinel-1B); the reduced orbital tube; the high image coherence; the acquisition in background mode; and the free of charge data availability. The paper describes the data processing and analysis procedures implemented by the authors to analyse Sentinel-1 interferometric data for deformation monitoring applications. Two different approaches to Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) are used depending on the characteristics of the study area and the available images. The main processing steps of the two methods, i.e. the simplified and the full PSI approach, are described and applied over an area of 7500 km2 located in Catalonia (Spain). The deformation velocity map and deformation time series over this area of study are analysed, as well as the potential of the procedure.
