Permanent Infrastructures for Continuous Space-based Monitoring of Natural Hazards

The global exposure of population and the built environment to natural hazards has significantly increased over the last decades. Consequently, important initiatives, such as the SENDAI framework for disaster risk reduction have risen to promote a global culture of effective disaster reduction policies, including mitigation actions on the social and economic impact of geohazards. Efficient prevention and mitigation rely on meticulous observation and monitoring of geohazards triggering factors using space- and ground-based techniques. The most prominent space techniques are Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite missions. The combination of GNSS and SAR observables through the integration of CORS networks and Corner Reflector arrays forms a seamless and continuous ground displacement monitoring system. The purpose of this paper is to present current permanent infrastructures dedicated to space-based deformation monitoring, perform analysis of their instrumentation, review their monumentation types and procedures, and examine the required spatial distribution of network multi-sensor stations. Finally, CyCLOPS, a new regional space-based integrated monitoring system, which enables robust and seamless monitoring of earthquake and landslide activity in Cyprus and the Southeastern Mediterranean Region is presented in this paper.