Arizona Department of Water Resources Land Subsidence Monitoring Program Using InSAR Data for Decision Making Throughout Arizona

Abstract:

In 1997, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) created a land subsidence monitoring program using survey-grade Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) equipment. In 2002, ADWR was awarded a 3-year $1.3 million NASA grant to expand the land subsidence monitoring program to include Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar data (InSAR). Upon completion of the NASA grant in 2005, ADWR quickly migrated to a land subsidence program that primarily utilized InSAR data using GNSS surveying to support the program. With the InSAR data, ADWR has identified more than 26 individual land subsidence features in Arizona, collectively covering more than 3,400 square miles of the state. The InSAR derived deformation data are used both internally and externally for decision making on various type of projects which include the management of water resources and critical infrastructure; monitoring and mitigation of geological hazards such as earth fissures, landslides, and sinkholes; and monitoring floodplains. As of June 2020, 555 land subsidence maps are available for download and are used daily by geologists, hydrologists, engineers, planners, surveyors, floodplain managers, GIS analysts, and water resources managers.