The Value of Data—The Qatar Geologic Mapping Project

Krupansky, Joseph T.; Knight, Michael A.; Orndorff, Randall C.; Al-Akhras, Khaled; Mouradian, Ara G.; Saleh, Ali F.

doi:10.1061/9780784482162.002

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The State of Qatar is located on the eastern side of the Arabian shelf extending into the Gulf as a 160 km long and a 60-90 km wide peninsula along a broad, north-south trending fold, the Qatar arc [27] (Figure 1a). The relief of the Qatar Peninsula is, in general, low.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Approximately 80% of Qatar's land surface is covered by the chalky dolomite and limestone of the Eocene Dammam Formation (Figure 1a). In southern Qatar, the Dammam Formation is unconformably overlain by 40-80 m thick limestone, dolomite, and the evaporite rocks of the Miocene Dam Formation [27]. Quaternary deposits are largely found on the coastal and near-coastal areas and are composed of sabkhas, and unconsolidated sediments (fine-grained alluvium, eolian sand, beach deposits, etc.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The karst formations of central Qatar have been associated with the subsurface dissolution of carbonate and sulfate deposits during Pleistocene wet climatic periods, whereas the pitted karst terrain in northern Qatar was associated with differential dissolution along joint-flow drainage [32]. The discovery of many cavities during the implementation of massive infrastructure and construction projects in recent years was one of the main reasons behind launching a new national initiative for subsurface geological and geotechnical mapping [27,33]. Shallow groundwater systems are found in the karstic Dammam and the Upper Umm El Radhuma and Russ aquifers, and the majority of sinkholes were reported from the Upper Dammam formation (Figure 1b) [32].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Countrywide Monitoring of Ground Deformation Using InSAR Time Series: A Case Study from Qatar

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the past few decades the country of Qatar has been one of the fastest growing economies in the Middle East; it has witnessed a rapid increase in its population, growth of its urban centers, and development of its natural resources. These anthropogenic activities compounded with natural forcings (e.g., climate change) will most likely introduce environmental effects that should be assessed. In this manuscript, we identify and assess one of these effects, namely, ground deformation over the entire country of Qatar. We use the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) InSAR time series approach in conjunction with ALOS Palsar-1 (Jan. 2007 to Mar. 2011) and Sentinel-1 (Mar. 2017 to Dec. 2019) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) datasets to assess ground deformation and conduct spatial and temporal correlations between the observed deformation with relevant datasets to identify the controlling factors. The findings indicate: (1) the deformation products revealed areas of subsidence and uplift with high vertical velocities of up to 35 mm/yr; (2) the deformation rates were consistent with those extracted from the continuously operating reference GPS stations of Qatar; (3) many inland and coastal sabkhas (salt flats) showed evidence for uplift (up to 35 mm/yr) due to the continuous evaporation of the saline waters within the sabkhas and the deposition of the evaporites in the surficial and near-surficial sabkha sediments; (4) the increased precipitation during Sentinel-1 period compared to the ALOS Palsar-1 period led to a rise in groundwater levels and an increase in the areas occupied by surface water within the sabkhas, which in turn increased the rate of deposition of the evaporitic sediments; (5) high subsidence rates (up to 14 mm/yr) were detected over landfills and dumpsites, caused by mechanical compaction and biochemical processes; and (6) the deformation rates over areas surrounding known sinkhole locations were low (+/−2 mm/yr). We suggest that this study can pave the way to similar countrywide studies over the remaining Arabian Peninsula countries and to the development of a ground motion monitoring system for the entire Arabian Peninsula.

show abstract

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation