Estimating the subsidence rate of Eyvanakey Plain and analyzing the Role of human activities in its occurrence

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• amirali abbaszadeh ¹
• Amir Safari ²
• ali ahmadabadi ²

¹ Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Kharazmi University of Tehran - Iran

² University of Kharazmi

10.22067/geoeh.2024.87559.1477

Abstract

Land subsidence is a danger that covers many plains of Iran, including Eyvanakey plain in Semnan province. Eyvanakey Plain has a high potential due to the influence of climate and topography in terms of the risk of subsidence. Due to the importance of the subject, this research aims to evaluate the subsidence of the Eyvanakey Plain and analyze the factors influencing its occurrence. In this research, Sentinel 1 radar images, Landsat satellite images and information related to piezometric wells in the region are used as the most important research data. The most important research tools are GMT, ArcGIS, ENVI and SPSS. According to the subject and objectives, in this research, firstly, the assessment of the subsidence of the region during the years 2016 to 2022 and then the impact of the decrease in underground water resources and land use changes on the subsidence have been done. Based on the results, the study area has subsided between 28 and 533 mm during the 6-year period, which is a significant figure. The spatial analysis of the subsidence that has occurred indicates that the highest amount of subsidence was related to the southern areas of Eyvanakey Plain, and these areas also face a drop in the underground water level of about 2 meters every year. Accordingly, one of the reasons for the subsidence occurred, There has been a drop in underground water resources. Also, based on the results, the use of man-made areas and agricultural lands during the years 1992 to 2022 have increased by 6.9 and 2.7 square kilometers, respectively, and considering that the highest amount of subsidence in the scope of these uses has been, therefore, the development of agricultural lands and man-made areas has been the main cause of subsidence.

Keywords

• Subsidence
• Decrease of underground water resources
• Land use changes
• Eyvanakey Plain

Main Subjects

• Land subsidence

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