Persistent scatterer interferometric analyses were conducted on a stack of 84 Environmental Satellite's Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar scenes spanning 7 years (2004 to 2010) over the entire Nile Delta of Egypt and surroundings (area: 40,416 km2) to monitor the ongoing spatial and temporal land deformation, identify the factors controlling the deformation, and model the interplay between sea level rise and land subsidence to identify areas and populations threatened by sea encroachment by the end of the 21st century. Findings include the following: (1) general patterns of subsidence (average rate: −2.4 mm/year) in the northern delta, near‐steady to slight subsidence in the southern delta (average rate: 0.4 mm/year), separated by a previously mapped flexure zone (minimum width: 20–40 km) undergoing uplift (average rate: 2.5 mm/year); (2) high subsidence rates (up to −8.9 mm/year) over the north central and northeastern delta (area: ~4,815 km2), possibly due to compaction of recent (<3,500 years old), thick (>5 m) silt and clay‐rich Holocene sediments; (3) high subsidence rates (up to −9.7 mm/year) in areas where the highest groundwater extraction rates were reported in southern delta (Menoufia governorate) and in reclaimed desert land in the western delta (Beheira governorate); (4) high subsidence rates (up to −9.7 mm/year) over onshore gas fields, notably the Abu Madi gas field, where high gas extraction rates have been recorded; and (5) using extracted deformation rates, high‐resolution TanDEM‐X digital elevation model, a eustatic sea level rise of 0.44 m, and applying a bathtub inundation model, an estimated 2,660 km2 in northern delta will be inundated by year 2100.

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The measurement, field description and study of the foraminife-ral content of the Paleogene rocks exposed in the area enable to recognize three formations and several time stratigraphie units and lacunes of sedimentation. The formations are from base to top : the Hafit Formation (including three members, belonging to the Middle Eocene), the Senaiya Formation (including five members, ranging in age from latest Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene) and the A1 Jaww Formation (including two members of Middle Oligocene age). The relations of the major structures recognized in the geologic map with the unconformities (detected by both field observations and studies on the stratigraphical distribution of Foraminifera) enables to detect four periods of tectonic activity during the Paleogene. It seems that the Hafit and A1 Jaww Formations has been laid down under dry climatic conditions, while the Senaiya Formation reflects less arid climates.

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