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Volume 40, Issue 3 (2025)
GeoRes 2025, 40(3): 221-230 |
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Received: 2025/07/29 | Accepted: 2025/09/2 | Published: 2025/09/7
Received: 2025/07/29 | Accepted: 2025/09/2 | Published: 2025/09/7
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Soltani-Samet M, Soltani H, Galoie M. Land Subsidence Due to Groundwater Depletion in Qazvin Plain-Buein Zahra Using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Method. GeoRes 2025; 40 (3) :221-230
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1- Department of Civil Engineering, Buein Zahra Technical University, Buein Zahra, Iran
2- Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technical and Engineering, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
2- Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technical and Engineering, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
Abstract (411 Views)
Aims: Land subsidence is a destructive natural hazard that can occur either suddenly or gradually and can lead to severe economic and human losses.
Methodology: In this applied study which is conducted in 2025, the Qazvin plain (Buein Zahra region) was selected to estimate the subsidence rate. The Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar method and data series from 2019 to 2025 were used to estimate this phenomenon. To do this, the interpolation maps of groundwater depletion, active faults, and land use data of the area were extracted and analyzed.
Findings: The analysis of the satellite images showed that the average annual drawdown in the study area was 200 mm and that the groundwater depletion rate, which is being observed by the water company of Qazvin, was strongly decreasing during 2019-2025. The subsidence variations were related to groundwater depletion and land use, as the northern part of the region was predominantly used for agriculture, and intensive agricultural activities have led to overexploitation of the aquifers, so that the subsidence rate was higher, while it was quite low in the southern part, which is used for residential purposes.
Conclusion: The northern, western, and central parts of the study area were affected by a high subsidence rate. In addition, groundwater abstraction between 2019 and 2025 was much higher than that of the central part. The correspondence between the groundwater depletion and the estimated subsidence rate indicated the impact of groundwater overexploitation on the occurrence of subsidence in recent years.
Methodology: In this applied study which is conducted in 2025, the Qazvin plain (Buein Zahra region) was selected to estimate the subsidence rate. The Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar method and data series from 2019 to 2025 were used to estimate this phenomenon. To do this, the interpolation maps of groundwater depletion, active faults, and land use data of the area were extracted and analyzed.
Findings: The analysis of the satellite images showed that the average annual drawdown in the study area was 200 mm and that the groundwater depletion rate, which is being observed by the water company of Qazvin, was strongly decreasing during 2019-2025. The subsidence variations were related to groundwater depletion and land use, as the northern part of the region was predominantly used for agriculture, and intensive agricultural activities have led to overexploitation of the aquifers, so that the subsidence rate was higher, while it was quite low in the southern part, which is used for residential purposes.
Conclusion: The northern, western, and central parts of the study area were affected by a high subsidence rate. In addition, groundwater abstraction between 2019 and 2025 was much higher than that of the central part. The correspondence between the groundwater depletion and the estimated subsidence rate indicated the impact of groundwater overexploitation on the occurrence of subsidence in recent years.
Keywords:
References
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