Two-Dimensional Ground Deformation Monitoring in Shanghai Based on SBAS and MSBAS InSAR Methods

Shanghai has experienced the greatest land subsidence in China in the past sixty years and produced undesirable environmental impact. However, horizontal ground deformation has not been understood yet. Therefore ground deformation monitoring together with the analysis of its driving forces are critical for geo-hazards early-warning, city planning and sustainable urbanization in Shanghai. In this paper, two-dimensional ground deformation monitoring was performed in Shanghai with SBAS and MSBAS InSAR methods. Twenty-nine Multi-Look Fine 6 (MF6) Radarsat-2 SLC data acquired during 2011–2013 were used to derive vertical ground deformation. Meanwhile, six descending Multi-Look Fine 6 (MF6) and four ascending Multi-Look Fine 2 (MF2) spanning April to August, 2008, were used to derive vertical and horizontal ground deformation during the observation period. The results indicate that vertical and horizontal deformations in 2008 were not homogeneously distributed in different districts ranging from 0–2 cm/year. Vertical deformation rate during 2011–2013 were decreased to less than 1 cm/year in most district of Shanghai area. Activities from groundwater exploitation and rapid urbanization are responsible for most of the ground deformation in Shanghai. Thus, future ground deformation in vertical and horizontal directions should be warranted.