Defense Date
6-30-2022
Graduation Date
Summer 8-13-2022
Availability
Immediate Access
Submission Type
thesis
Degree Name
MS
Department
Environmental Science and Management (ESM)
Committee Chair
David Kahler
Committee Member
Theodore Corcovilos
Committee Member
Philip Reeder
Keywords
Subsidence, Remote Sensing, InSAR, Water Resources, Saltwater Intrusion, Limpopo River Basin, Mozambique
Abstract
Land subsidence is a threat to coastal cities around the world. In the lower Limpopo River Basin, the presence of compaction-prone alluvial sediments, groundwater use, and reports of saltwater intrusion suggest that subsidence could be occurring. Using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) from Sentinel-1, combined with in-situ sea level and river height measurements, this study aims to determine if land subsidence could contribute to increased saltwater intrusion. InSAR results indicate that subsidence in the lower Limpopo River valley has occurred at an average rate of -2.98 cm/yr based on data from the dry seasons (May to October) of 2017-2021. River height is decreasing at a rate of -1.93 cm/yr and sea level is rising at 0.114 cm/yr. Given the detected rate of land subsidence, this presents a novel risk for relative sea level rise and likely contributes to the increased salinization of the lower Limpopo River.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Zuccolotto, G. (2022). ASSESSING THE RISK OF LAND SUBSIDENCE IN THE LOWER LIMPOPO RIVER BASIN, MOZAMBIQUE WITH REMOTE SENSING (Master's thesis, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/2034
SI 1: Google Earth KMZ files with interactive time series results of dry season subsidence in the lower Limpopo River Basin