Monitoring ground deformation in the settlement of Larissa in Central Greece by implementing SAR interferometry

摘要

The settlement of Larissa in the eastern part of Central Greece suffers from continued land deformation as evidenced by ground fissures, sinkholes and subsidence. We used three different interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) techniques to monitor ground deformation dynamics in the study area. Spatial patterns of short-term changes (35 days) were studied using conventional InSAR, longer-term changes (13 years) by interferometric stacking, and change dynamics of single objects was assessed by permanent scatterer technique. The results indicate co-occurring subsidence and uplift processes in the region with their average annual change rates reaching up to -2.9 and 6.6 mm a(-1), respectively. Some of these changes may be attributed to tectonic fault movements, but there are also other mechanisms of continued ground deformation in the region, particularly the swelling and shrinking of expansive soils and human-induced changes in the groundwater level.