Application of the SBAS-DInSAR technique for deformation monitoring in Tunis City and Mornag plain

Abstract

The ground deformation phenomena are the result of the application of natural stress (tectonic) or anthropogenic stress (overexploitation of groundwater, embankment) on the soil. The land deformation may cause several impacts on the environment and human life. A good understanding of the deformation behaviour of the soil is essential to mitigate risks on the infrastructure and environment. In this study, a radar interferometry is carried out to analyse the mobility of an urban and suburban area of Greater Tunis region. The interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technique has been proven to be an effective methodology for detecting and monitoring soil displacement with millimetre accuracy and also, improving our understanding of the current deformations in the study area. Indeed, the application of differential SAR interferometry made it possible to determine the origin of the surface deformations related to natural or anthropic phenomena. In this paper, the interferometric method of small baseline subset (SBAS) developed by Berardino et al. 2002has been chosen, in order to monitor the spatial and temporal pattern of the deformation phenomena in Greater Tunis region. The analysis of Envisat ASAR (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007), descending satellite orbit) and Sentinel 1B (2016-2018, ascending satellite orbit) SAR data allowed us to create deformation velocity maps associated with line of sight displacement time series. The results obtained by this method showed the existence of subsidence phenomenon in the urban areas (Tunis City) as well as in the rural areas (Mornag plain). In the first site (Tunis City), the subsidence rate reaches up to 13.98 mm/year and 19 mm/year during 2003-2007 and 2016-2018, respectively. The ground deformation that is detected around the region of Tunis Lake and Sebkhet Essijoumi, is probably due to the nature of the highly compressible and thickness alluvial deposits and whose substratum depth sometimes reaches more than 60 m. In the second studied site, ground subsidence was identified in the whole plain of Mornag. Indeed, the comparison between piezometric data and time series deformations shows that the trend of soil subsidence is coherent with the dynamic change in groundwater levels. Furthermore, the analysis ARTICLE HISTORY

Quantitative Analysis of Land Subsidence and Its Effect on Vegetation in Xishan Coalfield of Shanxi Province

“…In the interferometry process, the Digital Elevation Model (SRTM1 DEM), the Goldstein filtering, and the Delaunay MCF method were selected to reduce phase noise and remove signals in low coherence regions [27,28]. Then, ground control points and the polynomial optimization method were performed for the orbital refinement and the phase re-flattening process [29].…”

Route Plans for UAV Aerial Surveys according to Different DEMs in Complex Mountainous Surroundings: A Case Study in the Zheduoshan Mountains, China

“…InSAR has been developed for more than 40 years since its introduction [37], and it is one of the state-of-the-art technologies for elevation generation. With the successful launch of a growing number of SAR satellites, advances in computer hardware and software, and algorithms, InSAR has been successfully applied to monitor surface deformation caused by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, glacier drift, and geological hazards, associated with human activities, e.g., landslides and ground subsidence [15,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. In addition, InSAR technology can also be used for topographic mapping, and many researchers have conducted numerous studies on this topic with good results [34,36,37,[46][47][48].…”