Estimation of land subsidence hazard using interferometry of satellite radar images

Abstract

Increased exploitation of underground resources compared is one of the main reasons for subsidence. Subsidence causes infrastructure damage and ultimately leads to increased risk to society and the economy. In some areas of Iran recently, buildings, runways, bridges, tunnels, streets, railways and roads have been severely damaged. In this study, the amount of land subsidence was analysed in the western region of Kerman city using interferometry of radar images of Sentinel-1 satellite data from 2014 to 2020 in Sentinel’s Application Platform software. Results show that the subsidence rate in the area changed between 3.3 cm to 13.2 cm, confirms a significant increase. Field studies indicate that increased utilisation of groundwater resources, compaction due to ground drainage and imposition of heavy loads can all cause subsidence, which in turn rate leads to huge damage to infrastructure.