Different Ground Subsidence Contributions Revealed by Integrated Discussion of Sentinel-1 Datasets, Well Discharge, Stratigraphical and Geomorphological Data: The Case of the Gioia Tauro Coastal Plain (Southern Italy)

Giuseppe Cianflone, Giovanni Vespasiano, Cristiano Tolomei, Rosanna De Rosa, Rocco Dominici, Carmine Apollaro, Kristine Walraevens and Maurizio Polemio
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Giuseppe Cianflone: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DIBEST), University of Calabria, Via Ponte Bucci, Cubo 15B, 87036 Rende, Italy
Giovanni Vespasiano: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DIBEST), University of Calabria, Via Ponte Bucci, Cubo 15B, 87036 Rende, Italy
Cristiano Tolomei: INGV—Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy
Rosanna De Rosa: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DIBEST), University of Calabria, Via Ponte Bucci, Cubo 15B, 87036 Rende, Italy
Rocco Dominici: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DIBEST), University of Calabria, Via Ponte Bucci, Cubo 15B, 87036 Rende, Italy
Carmine Apollaro: Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DIBEST), University of Calabria, Via Ponte Bucci, Cubo 15B, 87036 Rende, Italy
Kristine Walraevens: Laboratory for Applied Geology and Hydrogeology, Department of Geology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Maurizio Polemio: Research Institute for Hydrogeological Protection (IRPI), National Research Council (CNR), Via Amendola 122 I, 70126 Bari, Italy

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: Groundwater is the main water supply for agricultural and industrial needs in many coastal plains worldwide. Groundwater depletion often triggers land subsidence, which threatens manmade infrastructure and activities and aggravates other geohazards. We applied a multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar technique to Sentinel-1 datasets to detect ground motion in the Gioia Tauro plain (Calabria, Southern Italy) from 2018 to 2021. The InSAR data were analysed through the integrated use of groundwater head, stratigraphical and geomorphological data, and land use information to distinguish the potential subsidence divers. The results show that subsiding areas, with a mean rate of about 10 mm/yr, are in the middle of the plain, and their location is influenced by the spatial distribution of compressible sediments included in the shallow aquifer. Furthermore, the subsidence arrangement is spatially accordant with the main groundwater depression area, which can be ascribed to the ongoing and increasing water pumping for predominantly agricultural usage. We also observed that subsidence (up to 10 mm/yr) affects the western dock of the Gioia Tauro harbour, in front of which, in very shallow water, are two submarine canyon heads already affected by slides in the past.

Keywords: Gioia Tauro plain; subsidence; InSAR; groundwater exploitation; land use change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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