Large-Scale Land Deformation Monitoring over Southern California with Multi-Path SAR Data

Southern California, USA, has been suffering severe surface deformation due to its active crustal movement under the north-south compression of the Pacific Plate and North American Plate. Meanwhile, affected by groundwater extraction and recharge, oil exploitation, surface subsidence, uplift, and seasonal deformation occur commonly in this region. In this paper, multi-path SAR datasets were collected to investigate and monitor surface deformation in Southern California. The unified simultaneous least squares (USLS) approach is applied to remove the deformation discontinuity between adjacent SAR image paths. Multiple deformation patterns of structural faults, groundwater withdrawal, and oil exploitation are observed with the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique. The InSAR-derived results were validated with GPS monitoring data. The correlations between land deformation and groundwater withdrawal, faults, and precipitation were intensively analyzed, finding out and mastering the magnitude and characteristics of ground deformation in Southern California.

Automated summary

Southern California, USA, experiences surface deformation due to crustal movement and various human activities like groundwater extraction and oil exploitation. This study uses multi-path SAR data to investigate and monitor surface deformation, applying a unified simultaneous least squares approach to remove deformation discrepancies between adjacent SAR image paths. With the InSAR technique, multiple deformation patterns related to structural faults, groundwater withdrawal, and oil exploitation are observed. The results are validated using GPS monitoring data, and the correlations between land deformation and groundwater withdrawal, faults, and precipitation are extensively analyzed, providing insights into the magnitude and characteristics of ground deformation in Southern California.