Quick
Search: 		  
advanced search
 GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help 
GSA Bulletin Don't get GSW? Talk to your librarian.
JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
GSA Bulletin; January 2002; v. 114; no. 1; p. 12-23; DOI: 10.1130/0016-7606(2002)114<0012:TLPOEI>2.0.CO;2
© 2002 Geological Society of America
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (14)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Baer, G.
Right arrow Articles by Frydman, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation

The lowest place on Earth is subsiding—An InSAR (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) perspective

Gidon Baer*,1, Uri Schattner*,2, Daniel Wachs*,3, David Sandwell*,4, Shimon Wdowinski*,5 and Sam Frydman*,6

1 Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Yisrael Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel
2 Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Yisrael Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel, and Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel
3 Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Yisrael Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel
4 Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California 92093-0225, USA
5 Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel
6 Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel

Since the early 1990s, sinkholes and wide, shallow subsidence features (WSSFs) have become major problems along the Dead Sea shores in Israel and Jordan. Sinkholes are readily observed in the field, but their locations and timing are unpredictable. WSSFs are often difficult to observe in the field. However, once identified, they delineate zones of instability and increasing hazard. In this study we identify, characterize, and measure rates of subsidence along the Dead Sea shores by the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique. We analyze 16 SAR scenes acquired during the years 1992 to 1999 by the European Remote Sensing ERS-1 and ERS- 2 satellites. The interferograms span periods of between 2 and 71 months. WSSFs are observed in the Lisan Peninsula and along the Dead Sea shores, in a variety of appearances, including circular and elongate coastal depressions (a few hundred meters to a few kilometers in length), depressions in ancient alluvial fans, and depressions along salt-diapir margins. Phase differences measured in our interferograms correspond to subsidence rates generally in the range of 0–20 mm/yr within the studied period, with exceptional high rates that exceed 60 mm/yr in two specific regions. During the study period, the level of the Dead Sea and of the associated ground water has dropped by ~6 m. This water-level drop within an aquifer overlying fine-grained, marly layers, would be expected to have caused aquifer-system consolidation, resulting in gradual subsidence. Comparison of our InSAR observations with calculations of the expected consolidation shows that in areas where marl layers are known to compose part of the upper 30 m of the profile, estimated consolidation settlements are of the order of the measured subsidence. Our observations also show that in certain locations, subsidence appears to be structurally controlled by faults, seaward landslides, and salt domes. Gradual subsidence is unlikely to be directly related to the sinkholes, excluding the use of the WSSFs features as predictable precursors to sinkhole formation.

Key Words: consolidation • Dead Sea • ground-water level • land subsidence • synthetic aperture radar interferometry




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Progress in Physical GeographyHome page
H. Rott
Advances in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) in earth system science
Progress in Physical Geography, December 1, 2009; 33(6): 769 - 791.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society of America Special PapersHome page
Z. Ben-Avraham and M. Lazar
The structure and development of the Dead Sea basin: Recent studies
Geological Society of America Special Papers, January 1, 2006; 401(0): 1 - 13.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society of America Special PapersHome page
G. Shamir
The active structure of the Dead Sea Depression
Geological Society of America Special Papers, January 1, 2006; 401(0): 15 - 32.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society of America Special PapersHome page
R. Weinberger, Z.B. Begin, N. Waldmann, M. Gardosh, G. Baer, A. Frumkin, and S. Wdowinski
Quaternary rise of the Sedom diapir, Dead Sea basin
Geological Society of America Special Papers, January 1, 2006; 401(0): 33 - 51.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society of America Special PapersHome page
M. Abelson, Y. Yechieli, O. Crouvi, G. Baer, D. Wachs, A. Bein, and V. Shtivelman
Evolution of the Dead Sea sinkholes
Geological Society of America Special Papers, January 1, 2006; 401(0): 241 - 253.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by Geological Society of America