InSAR Campaign Reveals Ongoing Displacement Trends at High Impact Sites of Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki, Greece

Abstract

We studied the broader area of Thessaloniki in northern Greece and Chalkidiki and performed an InSAR campaign to study the surface deformation phenomena that have been known to exist for at least two decades. Sentinel-1 data (2015–2019) together with drill measurements were exploited to focus on specific sites of interest. Our results indicate an ongoing displacement field. At the region of Kalochori and Sindos—where intense subsidence in the 1990s was previously found to have had a natural surface rebound in the 2000s—a new period of subsidence, caused by the enlivenment of the groundwater overexploitation, was reported. The uplifting trend of Oreokastro is still active and subsidence in Anthemountas graben is ongoing; special focus was set on the Makedonia Airport, where significant displacement is occurring. The study also reveals a new area at Nea Moudania, that was not known previously to deform; another case corresponding to anthropogenic-induced surface displacement. Thessaloniki is surrounded by different persistent displacement phenomena, whose main driving mechanisms are anthropogenic. The sensitivity of the surface displacements to the water trends is highlighted in parts of the study area. Results highlight the plan of a water resources management as a high priority for the area.

InSAR Greece with Parallelized Persistent Scatterer Interferometry: A National Ground Motion Service for Big Copernicus Sentinel-1 Data

“…According to the InSAR Greece dataset, all the already-studied sites are continuing to deform. For instance, the Sindos-Kalochori region in the west of Thessaloniki [59][60][61][62][63][64] (Figure 10 (3, 4)), Anthemountas Basin in the east of Thessalonki [65] (Figure 10 (5)), Thriasio plain in the west of Athens [66] (Figure 10 (19)), and the Eastern Thessaly plain [67,68] (Figure 10 (6)) are some of the sites presenting a persistent deformation pattern identical to that already known.…”

“…To cross-evaluate the InSAR Greece project's findings with ground truth data, the subsiding deformation pattern identified at the Sindos-Kalochori region was compared with ground water level contour maps for the same time period [64]. Ground truth techniques have been used several times to evaluate the subsiding patterns of this study area identified by the use of ERS 1, ERS 2, and ENVISAT datasets [61][62][63].…”

“…Currently, the maximum displacement values in the vicinity of Kalochori are of the order of −10 mm/y, while in the broader area, maximum values reach a rate of −14 mm/y. These new findings triggered the publication of a new detailed follow-up paper presenting the InSAR data as well as their evaluation in detail using ground truth data [64].…”

Modelling of Evenness of Runways as an Element of Sustainable Airport Maintenance

“…The authors mainly describe data capture technologies, data processing accuracy, and presentation methods. Data capture methods, as described by the authors, must also be feasible during airport operation [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Multi-temporal SAR interferometry for monitoring ground deformation in Greece

“…The PSI results are an indication that water balance in the area might not have been restored after 2014, and that over-exploitation of Moudania watershed continues. This observation is also highlighted in Svigkas et al (2020), through an InSAR analysis from 2015 to 2019, validated by ground truth data.…”