Human induced groundwater level declination and physical rebound in northern Athens Basin (Greece) observed by multi-reference DInSAR techniques

The northern part of Athens Basin was subjected to human induced lowering of groundwater table due to over-pumping. The prolonged drought from late 1980´s to early 1990´s and the increased water demand resulted in significant settlement. Advanced SAR interferometric techniques were applied to investigate the time dependent ground displacements, focusing mainly on the non-linear component of motion, by utilizing ERS and ENVISAT satellite archive data. It has been shown that high displacement rates (up to -22.7 mm/yr) observed until 1995 were reduced when these areas were integrated to the national water supply system and groundwater extraction was abandoned. After 2002 large percent of the area is undergoing uplift indicating that the system is under a state of physical rebound.