Radar Interferometry Time Series Analysis of Mashhad Subsidence

A large agricultural area located in 20 km north of the city of Mashhad in the north-east of Iran is subject to land subsidence. The subsidence rate was achieved in a couple of sparse points by precise leveling between 1995 and 2005, and continuous GPS measurements obtained from 2005 to 2006. In order to study the temporal behavior of the deformation in high spatial resolution, the small baseline subset (SBAS) algorithm was used to generate the interferometric SAR time series analysis. Time series analysis was performed using 19 interferograms calculated from 12 ENVISAT ASAR data spanning between 2003 and 2006. The time series results exhibited that the area is subsiding continuously without a significant seasonal effect. Mean LOS deformation velocity map obtained from time series analysis demonstrated a considerable subsidence rate up to 24 (cm/yr). In order to evaluate the time series analysis results, continuous GPS measurements as a geodetic approach were applied. The comparisons showed a great agreement between interferometry results and geodetic technique. Moreover, the information of various piezometric wells distributed in the area corresponding to 1995 to 2005 showed a significant decline in water table up to 20 meters. The correlation between the piezometric information and the surface deformation at well's locations showed that the subsidence occurrence in Mashhad is due to the excess groundwater withdrawal.