HR: 0800h
AN: G11A-1204    [Abstracts]
TI: Local Subsidence in Greater Mahala, Egypt, Detected by Radar Interferometry
AU: * Aly, M H
EM: aly@tamu.edu
AF: Texas A&M University, MS 3115 Department of Geology and Geophysics Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3115 United States
AU: Giardino, J R
EM: rickg@tamu.edu
AF: Texas A&M University, MS 1113 Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1113 United States
AU: Klein, A G
EM: klein@geog.tamu.edu
AF: Texas A&M University, MS 3147 Department of Geography Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3147 United States
AB: Land subsidence is a major geomorphic problem in the Nile Delta of Egypt. Long-term subsidence monitoring is needed for sustainable development of the Nile Delta. Satellite radar interferometry is a powerful tool for monitoring land subsidence. Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) provides more cost-effective and higher spatial resolution subsidence measurements than traditional survey tools. Several challenges exist for the application of Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) to subsidence measurement in the Nile Delta because it is densely vegetated with high soil moisture and water vapor contents. Limitations in DInSAR as a result of temporal and geometrical decorrelations and atmospheric artifacts are overcome by carrying out the analysis on urban areas in the delta using thirty nine descending scenes acquired by the European Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS1 and 2) in the 1993-2000 period. Greater Mahala is one of the biggest cities in the delta and it is a home for approximately 500,000 people. Interferometric measurements of urban subsidence in Greater Mahala as well as in other cities in the delta will provide a good understanding of the pattern and magnitude of land subsidence in the entire delta. This, in turn, will help mitigate the impacts of geomorphic hazards associated with the land subsidence in the Nile Delta.
DE: 1625 Geomorphology and weathering (0790, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1886)
DE: 1640 Remote sensing (1855)
DE: 4217 Coastal processes
DE: 9305 Africa
SC: Geodesy [G]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005