Identifying Land Subsidence Using Global Digital Elevation Models

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Becek K., Ibrahim K., Bayik C., ABDİKAN S., Kutoglu H. S., Glabicki D., ...More

IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING, vol.14, pp.8989-8998, 2021 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 14
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1109/jstars.2021.3110438
  • Journal Name: IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), Compendex, Geobase, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.8989-8998
  • Keywords: Strain, Synthetic aperture radar, Vegetation mapping, Surface topography, Earth, Monitoring, Interferometry, Digital elevation models (DEMs), geodesy, geophysical measurement techniques, geospatial analysis, level measurement, synthetic aperture radar, terrain mapping, PERMANENT SCATTERERS, TOPOGRAPHY MISSION, SHUTTLE RADAR, SURFACE, ALGORITHM, INTERFEROMETRY, GENERATION, DEM
  • Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Recent developments in space-based surveying methods of the Earth's topography, including the differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR), have increased the availability of options for monitoring land subsidence. However, DInSAR methods require expert knowledge and specialized software, and they are time-consuming. Here, we demonstrate that a land subsidence signal can be identified in the differences in the freely available global digital elevation models (e.g., SRTM and TanDEM-X) using a simple statistical method. This finding opens up a venue to develop a computer application to identify land subsidence or uplift of a few decimeters per at least a decade order. Such an application enables monitoring the effects of underground mining, seismic/tectonic movements, landslides, volcanic activities, and similar effects on the Earth's topography. It can also provide a valuable and cost-effective tool for studying land deformation.