Abstract
We applied the Small Baseline Subset multi-temporal InSAR technique (SBAS) to two SAR datasets acquired from 2003 up to 2013 by Envisat (ESA, European Space Agency) and COSMO-SkyMed (ASI, Italian Space Agency) satellites to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of land subsidence in the Sibari Plain (Southern Italy). Subsidence processes (up to ~20 mm/yr) were investigated comparing geological, hydrogeological, and land use information with interferometric results. We suppose a correlation between subsidence and thickness of the Plio-Quaternary succession suggesting an active role of the isostatic compensation. Furthermore, the active back thrusting in the Corigliano Gulf could trigger a flexural subsidence mechanism even if fault activity and earthquakes do not seem play a role in the present subsidence. In this context, the compaction of Holocene deposits contributes to ground deformation. Despite the rapid urbanization of the area in the last 50 years, we do not consider the intensive groundwater pumping and related water table drop as the main triggering cause of subsidence phenomena, in disagreement with some previous publications. Our interpretation for the deformation fields related to natural and anthropogenic factors would be a comprehensive and exhaustive justification to the complexity of subsidence processes in the Sibari Plain.
Highlights
Many coastal and delta plains worldwide are affected by land subsidence phenomena [1,2], which often involve inhabited areas causing conspicuous economic costs.Examples come from different geodynamic, geological, climatic and social contexts
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) Results In the following, we report the deformation pattern of Sibari Plain (SP) at a large scale retrieved by InSAR
Based on the above analysis results, we found a direct correlation between subsidence spatial trends and distribution of the thickness of Plio-Quaternary deposits, which amplify the subsidence phenomenon as well documented during the evolution of the sedimentary basins [76,77,78,79,80,81]
Summary
Many coastal and delta plains worldwide are affected by land subsidence phenomena [1,2], which often involve inhabited areas causing conspicuous economic costs.Examples come from different geodynamic, geological, climatic and social contexts. In Italy, subsidence due to a combination of natural causes and anthropogenic activities is observed in the Venice coastland and the Po delta plain [3,4,5,6], while in the United States in correspondence of the coastal areas of Southern Louisiana and Mississippi [7,8,9,10,11]. The land subsidence monitoring has been significantly improved thanks to the earth observation techniques based on Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). The recent advances in radar satellite capabilities and techniques based on the interferometric analysis of large datasets [20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29] have allowed even better spatial and temporal resolutions
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