Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage

Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage

Investigation of Land Subsidence in the Kahak Plain, Qom, Using Interferometric Radar Technique(InSAR)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
vahid Mohammadi 1
taher rajaee 2
fatemeh abasipour moghadam 3
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Qom University, Qom
2 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Qom, Qom, Iran
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Khatam Al-Anbia University of Behbahan, Behbahan, Iran
10.22034/idj.2025.525438.2595
Abstract
This study investigates the phenomenon of land subsidence in the Kahak Plain, located in Qom Province, using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) techniques and S entinel-1 satellite imagery. For this purpose, 16 radar images from the period 2017 to 2020 were selected and processed using SNAP software to detect ground surface deformation over time. In addition, data from 32 piezometric wells spanning the years 2003 to 2020 were collected to calculate groundwater level declines during the same period. The results indicate that the average subsidence rate in the area is approximately 2.6 centimeters per year, with the highest rate observed in the Pasangan exploration zone, reaching up to 3.9 centimeters per year. Regions such as Hajjiabad, Sarajeh, and Dowlatabad, as well as the southeastern parts of the area—including Pasangan exploration zone, North Pasangan, and the highway intersection—have experienced the most significant groundwater level declines and, consequently, the highest subsidence rates. Statistical analysis reveals a strong correlation between groundwater depletion and land subsidence, with a calculated correlation coefficient of 0.73, significant at the 99% confidence level. Field surveys in high-risk areas further confirmed the presence of surface cracks and damages caused by subsidence.
Keywords
Keywords: Insar
Kahak Plain (Qom)
Radar Interferometry
Sentinel-1
Subsidence
شرکت مدیریت منابع آب کشور. دفتر مطالعات پایه‌ای منابع آب
روزبان، ع. 1395. بررسی فرونشست زمین با استفاده از روش تداخل سنجی تفاضلی راداری DInSAR و با به‌کارگیری تصاویر سنجنده SENTINEL. دومین کنفرانس ملی مهندسی فناوری اطلاعات مکانی. دی ماه، دانشکده مهندسی نقشه‌برداری خواجه نصیرالدین طوسی تهران.
شفیعی، ن،. مختاری، ل ،. امیراحمدی، ا. و زندی، ر. 1399. بررسی فرونشست دشت نورآباد با استفاده از روش تداخل سنجی راداری. پژوهشهای ژئومورفولوژی کمّی. 111-93:(4)8.
فتح الهی، ن،. آخوندزاده هنزایی، م، و بحرودی، ع. 1397. بررسی فرونشست زمین در اثر استخراج مواد نفتی با استفاده از روش تداخل سنجی رادار. مجله اطلاعات جغرافیایی. 27(105): 23-34.
قره چلو، س،. اکبری قوچانی، ح،. گلیان، س. و گنجی، ک. 1400. ارزیابی میزان فرونشست زمین در ارتباط با آب های زیرزمینی به کمک داده ماهواره ای راداری سنتینل-1 و الوس-1 (منطقه مورد مطالعه: دشت مشهد). مجله سنجش‌ازدور و سامانه اطلاعات جغرافیایی در منابع طبیعی ( کاربرد سنجش‌ازدور و GISدر علوم منابع طبیعی). 12(44): 11-14.
مرادی، آ،. عمادالدین، س،. آرخی، ص. و رضایی، خ. 1399. تحلیل زمین با استفاده از تکنیک تداخل سنجی راداری، اطلاعات چاه‌های ژئوتکنیکی و پیزومتری. نشریه تحلیل فضایی مخاطرات محیطی. ۷ (۱): 153-۱۷۶
واجدیان، س،. سراجیان، م. و منصوری، ب. 1390. استخراج میدان جابه‌جایی سه‌بُعدی با استفاده از فن تداخل‌سنجی رادار با دریچه مصنوعی (SAR): بررسی موردی گسل بم. مجله فیزیک زمین و فضا. 37(2).83-96.
Abidin, H. Z., Aas, H., Gumilar, I., Sidiq, T. P. and Week, M. G. F. W. 2015. Environmental impact of land subsidence in urban areas of Indonesia (7568) From the Wisdom of the Ages to the Challenges of the Modern World Sofia. Bulgaria .pp (17–21).
Chen, M., Tomás, R., Li, Z., Motagh, M., Li, T., Hu, L.,... and Gong, X. 2016. Imaging land subsidence induced by groundwater extraction in Beijing (China) using satellite radar interferometry. Remote Sensing. 8(6): 468.
Goorabi, A., Karimi, M., Yamani, M. and Perissin, D. 2020. Land subsidence in Isfahan metropolitan and its relationship with geological and geomorphological settings revealed by Sentinel-1A InSAR observations. Journal of Arid Environments. 181: 104238.
Guo, J., Zhou, L., Yao, C. and Hu, J. 2016. Surface subsidence analysis by multi-temporal insar and grace: A case study in Beijing. Sensors. 16(9), 1495.
Ghobadi‐Far, K., Werth, S., Shirzaei, M. and Bürgmann, R. 2023. Spatiotemporal groundwater storage dynamics and aquifer mechanical properties in the Santa Clara Valley inferred from InSAR deformation over 2017–2022. Geophysical Research Letters. 50(22).
Jeanne, P., Farr, T. G., Rutqvist, J. and Vasco, D. W. 2019. Role of agricultural activity on land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Journal of hydrology. 569: 462-469.
Osmanoğlu, B., Sunar, F., Wdowinski, S. and Cabral-Cano, E. 2016. Time series analysis of InSAR data: Methods and trends. Isprs journal of photogrammetry and remote sensing. 115: 90-102.
Smith, R. G., Knight, R., Chen, J., Reeves, J. A., Zebker, H. A., Farr, T. and Liu, Z. 2017. Estimating the permanent loss of groundwater storage in the southern S an J oaquin V alley, C alifornia. Water Resources Research. 53(3).
Shahnazi, S., Roushangar, K., Khodaei, B. and Hashemi, H. 2025. Insights into the Interconnected Dynamics of Groundwater Drought and InSAR-Derived Subsidence in the Marand Plain, Northwestern Iran. Remote Sensing. 17(7): 1173.
Tong, X. and Schmidt, D. 2016. Active movement of the Cascade landslide complex in Washington from a coherence-based InSAR time series method. Remote Sensing of Environment. 186: 405-415.
Zhang, L. 2019. Big data, knowledge mapping for sustainable development: a water quality index case study. Emerging Science Journal. 3(4): 249-254.
Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage
Volume 19, Issue 6 - Serial Number 115
March and April 2026
Pages 924-936