A land subsidence study via DInSAR technique over large urbanised areas

The paper discusses the potential of a DInSAR (Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry) technique for the study of subsidence phenomena over large areas. The validation tests of low resolution DInSAR data, spanning the period 1992-2001, were carried out at a "municipal scale" in the urban area of Sarno (Italy), affected by ground surface settlements ascribed to groundwater withdrawals. The analysis was then extended to the whole Campanian Plain, with the same stratigraphic and structural settings as Sarno area, in order to use the remote sensed data as a tool for detecting, at regional scale, the most critical areas in terms of rate of the recorded settlements. At least five highly urbanised areas were identified as "unstable", thus addressing further investigations to deepen the relationship between the causes and the effects of the detected phenomena.