Using Advanced Space-borne Radar Technology for Detection and Measurement of Land Subsidence and Interseismic Slip Rates, the Case Study: NW Iran

We used synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) to measure land subsidence in Tabriz Plain (TP) and strain accumulation along North Tabriz Fault (NTF). Thermal power plant of Tabriz city locats in the area called Tabriz Plain which supplies electric energy for NW Iran. Its facilities need to be constantly cool, so there are more than twenty water pumping stations in some parts of TP. Moreover, the power plant, petrochemical, refinery and Vanyar dam are located near at a hazardous tectonic structure called North Tabriz Fault. InSAR is one of satellite radar observation methods which is used in space geodesy. In this paper, we have applied twenty ASAR SLC images of Envisat satellite from descending orbits during May 2003 to July 2010. InSAR analysis shows about 20mm/yr land subsidence and about 7mm/yr slip rate for NTF.