Dam Safety — Infrastructure, Construction, Transport Corridors & Civil Works — Satellize

10.6Subsection · 5 applications

Dam Safety

Two engineers in hard hats examining the concrete face of a large dam with a reservoir behind it — Industrial facilities and waterways like this benefit from satellite radar systems that continuously monitor structural integrity and detect ground deformation.

Satellite Radar Monitoring Dam Structural Integrity

1
SAR Satellite
Captures millimetre-precision surface deformation imagery
2
Ground Station
Downloads interferometric radar passes daily
3
InSAR Processing
Detects subsidence, cracking, and displacement trends
4
Dam Authority Alert
Engineers receive early-warning dashboard notifications

Repeat-pass SAR satellites measure dam body movement to millimetre precision, triggering alerts before catastrophic failure.

Other areas in Infrastructure, Construction, Transport Corridors & Civil Works

10.5 · Previous

Utility Corridors

All of infrastructure

Bridge Monitoring

Subsection 10.6 — Infrastructure, Construction, Transport Corridors & Civil Works

Dam Safety

5 applications.

Applications

10.6.1 Reservoir Level Tracking — Measuring reservoir surface elevation continuously from orbit using radar altimetry and optical waterline detection to monitor storage volume and dam safety margins.
10.6.2 Dam Wall Deformation (InSAR) — Measuring millimetre-scale displacement of dam walls and abutments using repeat-pass synthetic aperture radar interferometry to detect structural deformation before it becomes failure.
10.6.3 Spillway Activity Monitoring — Using multispectral and SAR satellite imagery to detect, classify and track spillway gate operations, overflow events and erosion at dam structures in near-real time.
10.6.4 Catchment Inflow Forecasting — Using satellite-derived rainfall, snowpack, soil moisture and evapotranspiration data to predict water volumes flowing into a reservoir days to weeks ahead.
10.6.5 Downstream Flood Risk Modelling — Using satellite-derived terrain, soil-moisture, rainfall and reservoir-state data to continuously update inundation models for populated areas downstream of dams.