The complex karst dynamics of the Lisan Peninsula revealed by 25 years of DInSAR observations. Dead Sea, Jordan

Abstract This article presents and analyses the results obtained from Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) techniques applied to ERS-1/2, ENVISAT, ALOS-PALSAR, COSMO-SkyMed, and Sentinel-1A datasets over the Lisan Peninsula, located in the southern part of the Dead Sea, Jordan. The novelty comes from the integration of three different wavelengths to study the dynamics of a salt dome. The monitoring activity entirely covers the period extending from 1992 to 2016. Five displacement maps have been produced, carefully checked and then fused to provide a total cumulated map of the displacements in the area. The ground movements have been analysed by comparison with in-situ tectonic observations collected by various authors since the mid-1980s. The study shows an episodic rising of the Lisan diapir. The presented results can be useful to update the knowledge of the displacement rates occurring in the area and to better comprehend the complex dynamics of the Lisan Peninsula.

[1]  A. Batayneh,et al.  Use of ground-penetrating radar for assessment of potential sinkhole conditions: an example from Ghor al Haditha area, Jordan , 2002 .

[2]  D. Closson,et al.  Human-induced geological hazards along the Dead Sea coast , 2009 .

[3]  Y. Bock,et al.  Rising of the lowest place on Earth due to Dead Sea water‐level drop: Evidence from SAR interferometry and GPS , 2012 .

[4]  Zvi Garfunkel,et al.  The structure of the Dead Sea basin , 1996 .

[5]  Daniel Wachs,et al.  Collapse‐sinkholes and radar interferometry reveal neotectonics concealed within the Dead Sea basin , 2003 .

[6]  U. S. Brink,et al.  Geometry and subsidence history of the Dead Sea basin: A case for fluid‐induced mid‐crustal shear zone? , 2012 .

[7]  Sergey V. Samsonov,et al.  Multidimensional time‐series analysis of ground deformation from multiple InSAR data sets applied to Virunga Volcanic Province , 2012 .

[8]  A. Hofstetter,et al.  Teleseismic traveltimes residuals across the Dead Sea basin , 2014 .

[9]  D. Closson,et al.  Earthen Dike Leakage at the Dead Sea , 2015 .

[10]  D. Closson,et al.  Landslides along the Jordanian Dead Sea coast triggered by the lake level lowering , 2010 .

[11]  David T. Sandwell,et al.  The lowest place on Earth is subsiding—An InSAR (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) perspective , 2002 .

[12]  Gianfranco Fornaro,et al.  A new algorithm for surface deformation monitoring based on small baseline differential SAR interferograms , 2002, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[13]  Ittai Gavrieli,et al.  Water, salt, and energy balances of the Dead Sea , 2005 .

[14]  A. Hofstetter,et al.  Microearthquake activity in the Dead Sea region , 1989 .

[15]  L. Picard Structure and evolution of Palestine : with comparative notes on neighbouring countries , 1944 .

[16]  U. S. Brink,et al.  Salt diapirs in the Dead Sea basin and their relationship to Quaternary extensional tectonics , 2001 .

[17]  M. Weber,et al.  Crustal structure of the southern Dead Sea basin derived from project DESIRE wide-angle seismic data , 2009 .

[18]  Z. Garfunkel Internal structure of the Dead Sea leaky transform (rift) in relation to plate kinematics , 1981 .

[19]  Mario Costantini,et al.  A novel phase unwrapping method based on network programming , 1998, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[20]  Stefano Salvi,et al.  Sinkhole precursors along the Dead Sea, Israel, revealed by SAR interferometry , 2013 .

[21]  N. A. Karaki Synthese et carte sismotectonique des pays de la bordure orientale de la mediterranee : sismicite du systeme de failles du jourdain-mer morte , 1987 .

[22]  M. Stein,et al.  Lake Levels and Sequence Stratigraphy of Lake Lisan, the Late Pleistocene Precursor of the Dead Sea , 2002, Quaternary Research.

[23]  D. Closson,et al.  Sustainable development and anthropogenic induced geomorphic hazards in subsiding areas , 2016 .

[24]  E. Salameh,et al.  Changes in the Dead Sea level and their impacts on the surrounding groundwater bodies , 2000 .

[25]  C. Werner,et al.  Radar interferogram filtering for geophysical applications , 1998 .

[26]  Salt-dissolution-induced subsidence in the Dead Sea area detected by applying interferometric techniques to ALOS Palsar Synthetic Aperture Radar images , 2010 .

[27]  Abdallah Al-Zoubi,et al.  The Dead Sea sinkhole hazard: Geophysical assessment of salt dissolution and collapse , 2011 .

[28]  A. Quennell THE STRUCTURAL AND GEOMORPHIC EVOLUTION OF THE DEAD SEA RIFT , 1958, Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London.

[29]  D. Closson,et al.  Karst system developed in salt layers of the Lisan Peninsula, Dead Sea, Jordan , 2007 .

[30]  N. Meqbel,et al.  A magnetotelluric transect across the Dead Sea Basin: electrical properties of geological and hydrological units of the upper crust , 2013 .

[31]  H. Götze,et al.  3‐D density modelling of underground structures and spatial distribution of salt diapirism in the Dead Sea Basin , 2011 .

[32]  Damien Closson,et al.  Structural control of sinkholes and subsidence hazards along the Jordanian Dead Sea coast , 2005 .

[33]  A. Sneh Late Pleistocene Fan-Deltas Along the Dead Sea Rift , 1979 .

[34]  G. Schubert,et al.  Deep “drop down” basin in the southern Dead Sea , 2006 .

[35]  Damien Closson,et al.  Dikes Stability Monitoring Versus Sinkholes and Subsidence, Dead Sea Region, Jordan , 2014 .

[36]  M. Acheroy,et al.  Salt Tectonics of the Lisan Diapir Revealed by Synthetic Aperture Radar Images , 2011 .

[37]  Eyal Ben-Dor,et al.  Salt diapir movements using SAR interferometry in the Lisan Peninsula, Dead Sea Rift , 2002, SPIE Remote Sensing.

[38]  Y. Rotstein,et al.  The Dead Sea earthquake of 23 April 1979 , 1982 .

[39]  Damien Closson,et al.  Space-borne radar interferometric mapping of precursory deformations of a dyke collapse, Dead Sea area, Jordan , 2003 .

[40]  Sinkhole formation and subsidence along the Dead Sea coast, Israel , 2016, Hydrogeology Journal.

[41]  U. Dayan,et al.  Flash flood–producing rainstorms over the Dead Sea: A review , 2006 .