Time series subsidence evaluation using NSBAS InSAR: a case study of twin megacities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) in Pakistan
Ground deformation associated with natural and anthropogenic activities can be damaging for infrastructure and can cause enormous economic loss, particularly in developing countries which lack measuring instruments. Remote sensing techniques like interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) can...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media SA
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1833349495477239808 |
|---|---|
| author | Zafar W.A. Javed F. Ahmed R. Shah M.A. Ahmad M. Khan M.Y. Abdullah G.M.S. Khan D. Najeh T. Gamil Y. |
| author2 | 56765911000 |
| author_facet | 56765911000 Zafar W.A. Javed F. Ahmed R. Shah M.A. Ahmad M. Khan M.Y. Abdullah G.M.S. Khan D. Najeh T. Gamil Y. |
| author_sort | Zafar W.A. |
| building | UNITEN Library |
| collection | Institutional Repository |
| content_provider | Universiti Tenaga Nasional |
| content_source | UNITEN Institutional Repository |
| continent | Asia |
| country | Malaysia |
| description | Ground deformation associated with natural and anthropogenic activities can be damaging for infrastructure and can cause enormous economic loss, particularly in developing countries which lack measuring instruments. Remote sensing techniques like interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) can thus play an important role in investigating deformation and mitigating geohazards. Rawalpindi and Islamabad are twin cities in Pakistan with a population of approximately 5.4 million, along with important government and private entities of national and international interest. In this study, we evaluate rapid paced subsidence in this area using a modified small baseline subset technique with Sentinel-1A imagery acquired between 2015 and 2022. Our results show that approximately 50 mm/year subsidence occurs in the older city of Rawalpindi, the most populated zone. We observed that subsidence in the area is controlled by the buried splays of the Main Boundary Thrust, one of the most destructive active faults in the recent past. We suggest that such rapid subsidence is most probably due to aggressive subsurface water extraction. It has been found that, despite provision of alternate water supplies by the district government, a very alarming number of tube wells are being operated in the area to extract ground water. Over 2017?2021, field data showed that near-surface aquifers up to 50?60 m deep are exhausted, and most of the tube wells are currently extracting water from depths of approximately 150?160 m. The dropping water level is proportional to the increasing number of tube wells. Lying downstream of tributaries originating from the Margalla and Murree hills, this area has a good monsoon season, and its topography supports recharge of the aquifers. However, rapid subsidence indicates a deficit between water extraction and recharge, partly due to the limitations inherent in shale and the low porosity near the surface lithology exposed in the area. Other factors amplifying the impacts are fast urbanization, uncontrolled population growth, and non-cultivation of precipitation in the area. Copyright ? 2024 Zafar, Javed, Ahmed, Shah, Ahmad, Khan, Abdullah, Khan, Najeh and Gamil. |
| format | Article |
| id | my.uniten.dspace-37137 |
| institution | Universiti Tenaga Nasional |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media SA |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | my.uniten.dspace-371372025-03-03T15:47:53Z Time series subsidence evaluation using NSBAS InSAR: a case study of twin megacities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) in Pakistan Zafar W.A. Javed F. Ahmed R. Shah M.A. Ahmad M. Khan M.Y. Abdullah G.M.S. Khan D. Najeh T. Gamil Y. 56765911000 57188987709 57195804715 7402047313 58731610900 57217090512 56606096100 58888550500 57220642186 57191379149 Pakistan anthropogenic source human activity lithology megacity remote sensing satellite data satellite imagery subsidence synthetic aperture radar Ground deformation associated with natural and anthropogenic activities can be damaging for infrastructure and can cause enormous economic loss, particularly in developing countries which lack measuring instruments. Remote sensing techniques like interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) can thus play an important role in investigating deformation and mitigating geohazards. Rawalpindi and Islamabad are twin cities in Pakistan with a population of approximately 5.4 million, along with important government and private entities of national and international interest. In this study, we evaluate rapid paced subsidence in this area using a modified small baseline subset technique with Sentinel-1A imagery acquired between 2015 and 2022. Our results show that approximately 50 mm/year subsidence occurs in the older city of Rawalpindi, the most populated zone. We observed that subsidence in the area is controlled by the buried splays of the Main Boundary Thrust, one of the most destructive active faults in the recent past. We suggest that such rapid subsidence is most probably due to aggressive subsurface water extraction. It has been found that, despite provision of alternate water supplies by the district government, a very alarming number of tube wells are being operated in the area to extract ground water. Over 2017?2021, field data showed that near-surface aquifers up to 50?60 m deep are exhausted, and most of the tube wells are currently extracting water from depths of approximately 150?160 m. The dropping water level is proportional to the increasing number of tube wells. Lying downstream of tributaries originating from the Margalla and Murree hills, this area has a good monsoon season, and its topography supports recharge of the aquifers. However, rapid subsidence indicates a deficit between water extraction and recharge, partly due to the limitations inherent in shale and the low porosity near the surface lithology exposed in the area. Other factors amplifying the impacts are fast urbanization, uncontrolled population growth, and non-cultivation of precipitation in the area. Copyright ? 2024 Zafar, Javed, Ahmed, Shah, Ahmad, Khan, Abdullah, Khan, Najeh and Gamil. Final 2025-03-03T07:47:53Z 2025-03-03T07:47:53Z 2024 Article 10.3389/feart.2024.1336530 2-s2.0-85186929155 https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85186929155&doi=10.3389%2ffeart.2024.1336530&partnerID=40&md5=425b41644849bd1fd247208310e2e01b https://irepository.uniten.edu.my/handle/123456789/37137 12 1336530 All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access Frontiers Media SA Scopus |
| spellingShingle | Pakistan anthropogenic source human activity lithology megacity remote sensing satellite data satellite imagery subsidence synthetic aperture radar Zafar W.A. Javed F. Ahmed R. Shah M.A. Ahmad M. Khan M.Y. Abdullah G.M.S. Khan D. Najeh T. Gamil Y. Time series subsidence evaluation using NSBAS InSAR: a case study of twin megacities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) in Pakistan |
| title | Time series subsidence evaluation using NSBAS InSAR: a case study of twin megacities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) in Pakistan |
| title_full | Time series subsidence evaluation using NSBAS InSAR: a case study of twin megacities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) in Pakistan |
| title_fullStr | Time series subsidence evaluation using NSBAS InSAR: a case study of twin megacities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) in Pakistan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Time series subsidence evaluation using NSBAS InSAR: a case study of twin megacities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) in Pakistan |
| title_short | Time series subsidence evaluation using NSBAS InSAR: a case study of twin megacities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) in Pakistan |
| title_sort | time series subsidence evaluation using nsbas insar: a case study of twin megacities (rawalpindi and islamabad) in pakistan |
| topic | Pakistan anthropogenic source human activity lithology megacity remote sensing satellite data satellite imagery subsidence synthetic aperture radar |
| url_provider | http://dspace.uniten.edu.my/ |