The SENTINEL-1 mission is the European Imaging Radar Observatory for the Copernicus joint initiative of the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The SENTINEL-1 mission includes a C-band imaging radar operating in four exclusive acquisition modes with different resolution (down to 5 m) and coverage (up to 400 km). It provides dual polarisation capability, very short revisit times and rapid product delivery. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has the advantage of imaging during day or night and under all weather conditions. The mission is composed of a constellation of two satellite units, SENTINEL-1A and SENTINEL-1B, sharing the same orbital plane and featuring a short repeat cycle of 6 days optimised for SAR interferometry science and applications.
The pre-programmed operation mode of Sentinel-1 ensures avoidance of conflicts, building in the meanwhile a consistent long-term data archive most suitable for INSAR applications based on long time series. In particular, the main operational mode of Sentinel-1 over land, the Interferometric Wide swath (IW) mode, implemented using the Terrain Observation by Progressive Scans (TOPS) mode, provides large-scale mapping capability (swath width of 250 km) and high revisiting frequency, retaining ground resolution at 5×20m in range and azimuth, respectively.
Following the launch of the Sentinel-1A in April 2014 and successful in-orbit commissioning phase completed in September 2014, the gradual release of the operationally qualified products to the science community via the ESA’s Sentinels Scientific Data Hub has started since October 2014. The full operation capacity is foreseen after the in-orbit commissioning phase of the Sentinel-1B unit by end 2016.

In this session, all scientists exploiting the main Sentinel modes (TOPS) for interferometry science and applications are cordially invited. The objective of the session is to present, demonstrate and discuss the state-of-the-art in scientific exploitation of Sentinel-1 TOPS interferometry and the potential for new applications and future services.