InSAR-based modeling and analysis of sinkholes along the Dead Sea coastline

Atzori, Simone; Baer, Gidon; Antonioli, Andrea; Salvi, Stefano

doi:10.1002/2015gl066053

Cited by 36 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(52 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The location and width of the cavities and sinkholes in all the experiments are limited to the area above the salt layer, enabling to conclude that there is a relationship between the dissolution of the salt layer and the formation and subsidence of the incompetent layers above. Atzori et al [2015] show that the induced stress field favors generation of sinkholes at the perimeters of the subsiding areas rather than at their centers and that is in agreement with field observations. We do not see clear evidence for that in our experiments, probably due to the different scale of the experimental system in comparison to the natural system.…”

Section: Mechanism For Sinkhole Formation At the Dead Seasupporting

confidence: 89%

Salt dissolution and sinkhole formation: Results of laboratory experiments

Shalev

Yechieli

et al. 2016

J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The accepted mechanism for the formation of thousands of sinkholes along the coast of the Dead Sea suggests that their primary cause is dissolution of a salt layer by groundwater undersaturated with respect to halite. This is related to the drop in the Dead Sea level, which caused a corresponding drop of the freshwater‐saltwater interface, resulting in fresher groundwater replacing the brines that were in contact with the salt layer. In this study we used physical laboratory experiments to examine the validity of this mechanism by reproducing the full dynamic natural process and to examine the impact of different hydrogeological characteristics on this process. The experimental results show surface subsidence and sinkhole formation. The stratigraphic configurations of the aquifer, together with the mechanical properties of the salt layer, determine the dynamic patterns of the sinkhole formation (instantaneous versus gradual formation). Laboratory experiments were also used to study the potential impact of future stratification in the Dead Sea, if and when the “Red Sea‐Dead Sea Canal” project is carried out, and the Dead Sea level remains stable. The results show that the dissolution rates are slower by 1 order of magnitude in comparison with a nonstratified saltwater body, and therefore, the processes of salt dissolution and sinkhole formation will be relatively restrained under these conditions.

show abstract

Section: Mechanism For Sinkhole Formation At the Dead Seasupporting

confidence: 89%

Salt dissolution and sinkhole formation: Results of laboratory experiments

Shalev

Yechieli

et al. 2016

J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The best-fitting models were searched over the grid and the best fitting parameters were defined by the root mean square (RMS) misfit from the residuals (observed data model) [25]. The final cumulative vertical deformation map (Figure 6a) was used to solve the inverse problem based on the simple elastic displacement (cavity roof deflation) model with a planar array of closing cracks [26]. We fixed a source depth to 500 m, because a salt layer is bedded [27,28] and the cavity was supposed to be open at the depth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ongoing Deformation of Sinkholes in Wink, Texas, Observed by Time-Series Sentinel-1A SAR Interferometry (Preliminary Results)

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spatiotemporal deformation of existing sinkholes and the surrounding region in Wink, TX are probed using time-series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) methods with radar images acquired from the Sentinel-1A satellite launched in April 2014. The two-dimensional deformation maps, calculated using InSAR observations from ascending and descending tracks, reveal that much of the observed deformation is vertical. Our results indicate that the sinkholes are still influenced by ground depression, implying that the sinkholes continue to expand. Particularly, a region 1 km northeast of sinkhole #2 is sinking at a rate of up to 13 cm/year, and its aerial extent has been enlarged in the past eight years when compared with a previous survey. Furthermore, there is a high correlation between groundwater level and surficial subsidence during the summer months, representing the complicated characteristics of sinkhole deformation under the influence of successive roof failures in underlying cavities. We also modeled the sinkhole deformation in a homogenous elastic half-space with two dislocation sources, and the ground depression above cavities could be numerically analyzed. Measurements of ongoing deformation in sinkholes and assessments of the stability of the land surface at sinkhole-prone locations in near real-time, are essential for mitigating the threat posed to people and property by the materialization of sinkholes.

show abstract

“…Despite the many studies on the Dead Sea sinkholes [Atzori et al, 2015;Kottmeier et al, 2016], there are almost no studies regarding the size distribution of the sinkholes and their areal coverage's time development.…”

Section: Scale-free Distribution Of the Dead Sea Sinkhole Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Scale‐free distribution of Dead Sea sinkholes: Observations and modeling

Yizhaq

Ish-Shalom

Raz

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There are currently more than 5500 sinkholes along the Dead Sea in Israel. These were formed due to the dissolution of subsurface salt layers as a result of the replacement of hypersaline groundwater by fresh brackish groundwater. This process has been associated with a sharp decline in the Dead Sea water level, currently more than 1 m/yr, resulting in a lower water table that has allowed the intrusion of fresher brackish water. We studied the distribution of the sinkhole sizes and found that it is scale free with a power law exponent close to 2. We constructed a stochastic cellular automata model to understand the observed scale‐free behavior and the growth of the sinkhole area in time. The model consists of a lower salt layer and an upper soil layer in which cavities that develop in the lower layer lead to collapses in the upper layer. The model reproduces the observed power law distribution without involving the threshold behavior commonly associated with criticality.

show abstract

InSAR-based modeling and analysis of sinkholes along the Dead Sea coastline

Cited by 36 publications

References 34 publications

Salt dissolution and sinkhole formation: Results of laboratory experiments

Salt dissolution and sinkhole formation: Results of laboratory experiments

Ongoing Deformation of Sinkholes in Wink, Texas, Observed by Time-Series Sentinel-1A SAR Interferometry (Preliminary Results)

Scale‐free distribution of Dead Sea sinkholes: Observations and modeling

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About