Abstract In this work, we investigate the past and present land deformation in Al Wagan area in the United Arab Emirates. The area is primarily an agricultural region where dependence on groundwater is documented. Such a reliance on ground water resources in a region which is characterized by very low precipitation can lead to significant land subsidence as was observed in this study which identified fast and localized deformation trends. The quantification of ground deformations of large magnitude and small amplitude in this area with SAR Interferometry is a challenging task using moderate resolution data due to the incoherent surface background. Even though SAR acquisitions were sparse over this region, the available ENVISAT, ALOS and Sentinel-1A imagery was analysed with differential interferometry and the Small Baseline Subset technique in order to provide estimates about the evolution of the deformation pattern in a limited area. A clear evidence of subsidence phenomena has been identified in the study area. During the period 2003–2010 the subsidence was estimated to reach 18 cm/year as observed in the DInSAR processing results of data from ENVISAT and ALOS Satellites. However it appears to be slightly more stable during the recent past (Dec/2016–March/2018) as observed in the results with recent Sentinel-1 data where a maximum localized subsidence in the order of 10 cm was estimated. The depletion of the aquifer resources which is confirmed from groundwater level data is speculated to be the most probable cause.

中文翻译：

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使用 SAR 干涉测量技术在阿联酋 Al Wagan 农村地区监测地面沉降

摘要 在这项工作中，我们调查了阿拉伯联合酋长国 Al Wagan 地区过去和现在的土地变形。该地区主要是一个农业区，记录了对地下水的依赖。在降水量非常低的地区，这种对地下水资源的依赖会导致显着的地面沉降，正如本研究中所观察到的那样，该研究确定了快速和局部变形趋势。由于表面背景不连贯，使用中等分辨率数据使用 SAR 干涉测量法对该区域的大幅度和小幅度地面变形进行量化是一项具有挑战性的任务。尽管该地区的 SAR 采集很少，但可用的 ENVISAT、ALOS 和 Sentinel-1A 图像使用差分干涉测量法和小基线子集技术进行分析，以提供关于有限区域内变形模式演变的估计。在研究区已经确定了沉降现象的明确证据。在 2003 年至 2010 年期间，根据 ENVISAT 和 ALOS 卫星数据的 DInSAR 处理结果观察到，下沉估计达到 18 厘米/年。然而，正如最近 Sentinel-1 数据的结果所观察到的那样，在最近的过去（2016 年 12 月至 2018 年 3 月）中，它似乎稍微稳定一些，其中估计最大局部沉降约为 10 厘米。据推测，地下水位数据证实的含水层资源枯竭是最可能的原因。