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InSAR Monitoring of Active, Inactive and Abandoned Tailing Facilities

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InSAR Monitoring of Active, Inactive and
Abandoned Tailing Facilities
Jean Pascal Iannacone1, Matthew Lato1, Jorge Troncoso2 and Daniele Perissin3
1. BGC Engineering Inc., Canada
2. BGC Engineering Inc., Chile
3. Purdue University, Indiana

ABSTRACT
Although the number of annual tailings dam failures has declined over the past few years, the
number of serious failures (loss of life and/or release of ≥ 100 000 m3 semi-solid discharge) has
increased (UNEP, 2017). It is estimated that the increasing number and size of tailings dams will
amplify the risks of catastrophic failure in the future. In order to reach the enforced “zero failure
objective”, risks need to be mitigated using the Best Available Technology (BAT) and Best Applicable
Practice (BAP). The selection of BAT for tailings management will depend on the identified risks, on
tailings characteristics and the project economics. In this paper we analyse the feasibility of using
Satellite InSAR to monitor deformation and surface changes of Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF). In
particular, the use of freely available Sentinel-1 images as a cost-effective technique to monitor active,
inactive and abandoned tailings is discussed. Sentinel-1 is a two-satellite constellation operated by
the European Space Agency (ESA) which offers medium resolution data imaging in all weather
conditions with a repeat cycle up to 6-days. InSAR has been widely applied over the last two decades
to monitor ground deformation in many sectors, such as mining, oil and gas, natural hazards and
infrastructures. However, many factors affect the results and the quality that can be achieved. In TSFs
monitoring, some of these factors would be the continuously changing of surface conditions (i.e. dam
construction, tailings deposition) and high-water content of tailings. These challenges could be
partially mitigated using different InSAR approaches that are best suited a specific scope and TSFs
type.
We reviewed InSAR approaches to face operational challenges over Chilean TSFs. InSAR was also
used to map the propagation of earthquake induced deformation and to assess TSFs that might
require field investigations.
It was found that while Sentinel-1 represents a potential cost-effective solution to monitor the stability
of the tailings dam and the surrounding areas, no single technology will be the best alternative for
every tailings facility, but needs to be assessed for each site. The use of commercial satellites
characterized by higher resolution, should be considered where possible, in particular for small TSFs.

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INTRODUCTION

Although the majority of tailings dam incidents are associated with active tailings impoundments, a
range of types of incidents have been recorded at inactive impoundments (ICOLD 2001)
Therefore, monitoring the stability of the TSF embankments is of key importance. Stability is
traditionally measured with in-situ geotechnical instruments and visual inspections which are crucial
for TSF monitoring. However, in-situ measurements are not always possible or they might be limited
to a discrete number of survey points. It is known that monitoring equipment is costly to a project
and it is paramount that the correct and appropriate techniques are followed. As stressed in the recent
literature (MAC, 2017), the selection of the Best Available Technology (BAT) and Best Available
Practice are key to manage and mitigate risks across the entire TSF life cycle. Surface deformation can
be monitored from satellite through Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors. Several authors have
used SAR data to monitor structural health of dams (Grenerczy and Wegmüller, 2011, Michoud et al
2015; Roque et al 2015) and TSFs (Necsoiu and Walter, 2015; Hu et al. 2017). In high seismicity areas
such as Chile, tailings dams are susceptible to earthquake shaking which might trigger breaches and
liquefaction. ICOLD (2001) reports that the leading cause of incidents for active dams are slope
instability, overtopping and earthquake while for inactive dams, the leading causes of incidents are
overtopping and earthquake.
In this paper we exploited different InSAR techniques using freely available satellite data to monitor
surface deformation over TSFs of different size, type and state (i.e. active or abandoned).
This study provides an operational overview on the applicability of InSAR as a cost-effective solution
to monitor ground deformation of TSFs.

METHODOLOGY

SAR Interferometry (InSAR) technique uses two or more SAR images acquired at different times to
measure the phase differences and to derive surface deformation (Massonnet and Rabaute, 1993;
Massonnet and Feigl, 1995). In addition to the deformation, other factors contributing to phase
changes are atmospheric delays, topographic errors and moisture variations. The precision and
accuracy of the deformation measurements depends on the InSAR technique used and how well
other sources of signal are removed.
In general, InSAR techniques can be divided in Differential InSAR (DInSAR) and Multi-Temporal-
InSAR (MT-InSAR). In any InSAR technique, it is required that the surface conditions do not change
through the period analysed and that the same “reflectors” appears in each image. Active TSFs are
dynamic with the dams being frequently raised and the tailings beaches continuedly varying.
Therefore, it is important to understand pros and cons of the different techniques in order to choose
the right technology for the scope of a specific project. SARPROZ software (Perissin et al., 2011) was
used for DInSAR and MT-InSAR processing for this project.

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DInSAR
DInSAR techniques only compute phase differences between image pairs of the same area
(interferograms). Typically, interferograms contains atmospheric effects, topographic effects and any
other signal affecting the wave phase. Interferograms store phase changes in “fringe” cycles. A fringe
is a line of equal phase in the interferogram and each fringe to the next one corresponds to a phase
change of 2π. As a consequence, fringe cycles indicate surface displacement. The total number of
fringes can also be converted to displacement values “unwrapping” the fringe cycles (Pritt, 1996;
Fornaro et al., 1996; Xu and Cumming, 1999). DInSAR reaches centimetric precision for deformation
occurred between two dates.

MT-InSAR
MT-InSAR uses stacks of SAR images to estimate and remove the topographic and atmospheric
effects. The introduction of this technique (Ferretti et al. 2000) was a big step forward towards the
high precision measurements of slow moving surfaces over long periods (years). Millimetric
precision is possible by statically analysing the phase signals over a number of “good points”, often
indicated as “Persistent Scatterers” (PS). The result is a PS point cloud of deformation time series
(Ferretti et al. 2000; Ferretti et al., 2001). While a minimum number of 15 images is typically required
for MT-InSAR processing, a higher number is strongly recommended for increased measurement
precision.

Data

We processed 62 Sentinel 1A-1B images acquired in descending orbit and spanning from Oct 2014 to
Jan 2018. The temporal distribution and the acquisition frequency of the SAR images is shown in
Figure 1. It is noted that Sentinel has acquired consistently images every 12 days since March 2017,
allowing to better characterize non-linear movements that might occur over a shorter period (e.g. few
weeks).

Figure 1 Temporal distribution of the Sentinel 1A-1B images analysed

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Earthquake-Induced Deformation
A moment magnitude (Mw) 8.3 earthquake occurred on 16 September 2015, with epicentre to the
west of Illapel, Chile. The earthquake occurred along the collision zone between the Nazca and South
American Plate, converging at a rate of 8 cm/year in the N78 E direction (DeMets et al. 1990). We
performed a DInSAR analysis of the Illapel Eartquake to map the extent of the deformation caused
by the mega-thrust earthquake. Sentinel-1A images acquired from the descending orbit on the 24
August 2015 and 17 September 2015 were used for the generation of the co-seismic interferogram
(Figure 2). The “unwrapped” interferogram (Figure 2) is the base product of any InSAR technique
and can be produced over large areas in ~ 1 day from the image download. The timing of the data
processing in these cases is crucial for promptly supporting the prioritization of TSFs field
inspections.

Figure 2 Interferograms of the Illapel earthquake and TSF distribution. Fringes are isolines of surface
deformation

Deformation can be inferred from Figure 2 counting the number of phase cycles (fringes) (e.g. from
red to red). In the case of Sentinel, a phase cycle corresponds to 2.3 cm (half wavelength). A simple
visual counting of fringes allows a rapid estimate of the deformation. We counted about 60 fringes,

4
corresponding to 130 cm movement in the satellite Line of Sight (LoS). Results are comparable with
the ones from Solaro et al. (2016). Among the TSF indicated in Figure 2, El Mauro withstood ~20 cm
of deformation, Quillayes ~15 cm, Los Bronces ~12 cm, Las Cenizas ~10 cm. The deformation did not
extend to the TSF near Copiapo. It is highlighted that stability problems are often caused by high
strain which corresponds in the inteferograms to zones with high number of fringes. It can be noted
that towards the continent, the fringes become progressively sparse, implying decreasing gradients
of deformation, therefore lower vulnerability for the TSF. Deformation can be measured up to areas
where earthquake intensity (Wood and Neumann, 1931) was 4.5 at and are up to 250 km from the
epicentre.

Stability of TSF

This section shows the MT-InSAR point clouds obtained over a series of TSFs in Chile. Deformation
rates are color-coded in the range ±20 mm/year. Red (-20 mm/year) indicates movement away from
the satellite, (mainly compaction or downwards movements) while blue (-20 mm/year) indicates
movement towards the satellite (horizontal or upwards movements). The average precision was
below 1 mm/year. Figure 3 shows the MT-InSAR deformation rate over different sizes and types of
TSFs. The rockfill dam in Figure 3a has moved 80 mm (Figure 3c) over the 3-year monitoring period.

Figure 2 MT-InSAR deformation rates over different types of TSF

5
Movements are localized on the second TSF (Fig. 3b) while the bottom TSF (Fig. 3c) appears stable.
As expected, no measurements were possible with MT-InSAR over the active tailings deposits due to
the high-water content and the surface conditions that are changing frequently. Figure 3b shows the
application of MT-InSAR to a medium size inactive TSF. Measurements points were obtained over
most of the dam and over part of the tailings deposits which are showing consolidation up to 60 mm
during the monitoring period. Figure 3d shows the results over two inactive TSFs. Despite the small
size of the TSFs, a set of measurement points were extracted from Sentinel-1 along the dam.

CONCLUSION

The use of freely available SAR data was tested to monitor deformation at TSFs of different type, size
and state. MT-InSAR of Sentinel-1 identified 80 mm of movements over large and active tailings dam
with millimetric precision. Tailings settlements were measured over a medium size inactive TSF and
a good distribution of measurement points were found along the abutments.
Around the small inactive TSFs, Sentinel provided a point spacing of ~ 30 m. High-resolution
commercial satellites (e.g. 3 m X 3 m pixels) would provide higher density of measurement points
which would be advantageous to identify localized movements.
Sentinel is a tool that can be also used for screening TSF instability requiring further investigations at
regional scale. TSFs showing evidences of potential geotechnical risks would require further
assessment such as visual inspection or field investigation.
DInSAR was also used to measure the deformation induced by earthquakes at the TSF locations. Co-
seismic interferogram can support, together with the earthquake intensity map, the rapid assessment
of TSFs requiring a site inspection or field investigation after an earthquake shaking.
DInSAR is also recommended for tailings dams that are actively being built. MT-InSAR cannot be
used over surfaces that are changing continuously. Therefore, tailings dams that are actively being
built or active tailings deposits, might be monitored with DInSAR. This is achieved, reducing the
monitoring period to a few weeks or months, capturing a snapshot of the “inactivity” period.
A best practice would be using InSAR analysis (either commercial or freely available data) in
conjunction with traditional surveys methods. InSAR analysis provides a weekly or by-weekly
overview of the entire TSF optimizing frequency and location of site inspections or ground surveys.

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