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Toward Sustained Monitoring of Subsidence at the Coast Using InSAR and GPS: An Application in Hampton Roads, Virginia
Author(s) -
Buzzanga Brett,
Bekaert David P. S.,
Hamlington Ben D.,
Sangha Simran S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl090013
Subject(s) - interferometric synthetic aperture radar , subsidence , global positioning system , geology , aquifer , tide gauge , levelling , groundwater , sea level , environmental science , synthetic aperture radar , remote sensing , geodesy , oceanography , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , telecommunications , structural basin , computer science
Hampton Roads is among the regions along the U.S. Atlantic Coast experiencing high rates of relative sea level rise. Partly to mitigate subsidence from aquifer compaction, Hampton Roads is injecting treated wastewater into the underlying aquifer. However, the GPS (Global Positioning System) station spacing ( ∼ 30 km) is too coarse to capture the spatial variability of subsidence and potential uplift from the injection. We present a cost‐effective workflow for generating an InSAR (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) and GPS combined displacement product. We leverage a live, open‐access archive of InSAR products generated from Sentinel‐1 data. We find an overall subsidence rate of − 3.6 ± 2.3 mm/year with considerable spatial variability. The effects of groundwater injection are currently below detection. The workflow presented here is an asset for sustained monitoring of the injection effort and regional subsidence that is applicable along the U.S. coasts for assisting in mitigation and adaptation of relative sea level rise.