DEM Creation from Sentinel 1 Imagery using SAR Interferometry Approach (Video Tutorial)

DEM (Digital Elevation Model) extraction is one of popular topic in GIS and Remote Sensing. There are so many ways and methods to produce a DEM. You can use survey data in points format then interpolate it to became raster DEM, or using contour lines to generate DEM. Almost every GIS and Remote Sensing can do this kind of analysis. The better approach and yielding a better result is using Photogrammetry techniques. For photogrammetry, you needs satellite imagery or aerial photographs that has image overlap between flight line that later can be opened together in a photogrammetric software, and then from the overlaps, height and elevation information could be reconstructed and sampled together in their respective grids, and finally a DEM has been created. 

Recent development of survey technology has introduce us to LIDAR technology that enabling us to get a DEM in superfine resolution and covering large area. UAV technology is also progressed so much even photogrammetry survey can be done in daily basis using consumer UAV product (DJI products for example). 

Another way to get a good DEM is using radar/SAR data (either from airborne or spaceborne). DEM extraction from radar/SAR data can be done using two different methods. First is Radargrammetry (like photogrammetry, only it is using SAR data) and the second is Interferometry. I y wont explain the difference of those two methods, but if you are interested to get a DEM from SAR data using interferometry approach, here is a video tutorial about how to do it using ESA SNAP software and Sentinel-1 SAR data. 

Please reminder that interferometric DEM extraction using Sentinel-1 data only can be achieved for open area (desert, badlands, bare soils) or area thats never changed in very long time (urban area). DEM extraction using Sentinel-1 data will likely to fail if the Area of Interest has significant vegetation coverage (forest, shrubs, plantation). This is because Sentinel-1 is using C-band radar that very sensitive to dynamic change of vegetation, even in relative short time.