Land subsidence in Iran caused by widespread water reservoir overexploitation

Abstract

The increasing demands upon groundwater resources due to expanding metropolitan and agricultural areas are a serious challenge, particularly in semiarid and arid regions. In Iran, decades of unrestrained groundwater extraction for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use have resulted in a precipitous depletion of this valuable resource. Here we show that the decline in groundwater levels is associated with land‐surface deformation on local and regional scales. Combining water‐level data with satellite radar observations provides evidence for the prevalence of compacting aquifers in the country. Groundwater level decline is often associated with destruction of the aquifers, which appears to be a common problem in the groundwater basins of central and northeast Iran. Global warming and future climate change will affect arid and semiarid areas in the coming decades, further augmenting hazards associated with groundwater‐induced land subsidence.

Efficient global optimization of reservoir geomechanical parameters based on synthetic aperture radar-derived ground displacements

“…The consequent adjustment of the stress field and the volumetric deformation of the geologic formations can reactivate faults located in the surroundings of the reservoir (Trugman et al, 2014), induce seismic events (Lei et al, 2013), produce localized ground ruptures (Li et al, 2000), land subsidence (Fielding et al, 1998;Motagh et al, 2008;Chang et al, 2014), or uplift (Vasco et al, 2010;Teatini et al, 2011). Thus, reservoir management raises serious concerns in terms of human health, safety of structures and infrastructures, economic risks, and environmental and hydrologic impact (Morton et al, 2006).…”

Comparison of X-band, L-band and C-band radar images for monitoring subsidence in agricultural regions

“…Underground water exploitation in Tehran Plain has led to land subsidence in agricultural areas west of Tehran City [1,4]. Here we present the result of InSAR timeseries processing applied on a large dataset of X-band, C-band and L-band SAR imagery covering a long period of time between 2003 and 2013.…”

Sedimentology Studies and Environmental Impacts of Land Subsidence in Eslamshahr, SW Tehran, Iran

“…The destruction of bridges, roads, structures and municipal facilities and etc., are some of the damages which are caused by land International Research Conference on Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (IRCCAEE) Istanbul (Turkey) May. [17][18]2017 subsidence (Poland and Davis, 1969;Amighpey et al, 2006;Mahmoudpour et al, 2013;Motagh, et al, 2007Motagh, et al, , 2008; Bell et al, 2002;Ortiz-Zamora, et al, 2010). The consensus among experts and environment officials is that Tehran, capital of Iran and around it is losing the battle against land subsidence.…”