Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Land Subsidence and Sinkhole Occurrence in the Konya Endorheic Basin, Turkey

verfasst von

Osman Orhan, Mahmud Haghshenas Haghighi, Vahdettin Demir, Ergin Gökkaya, Francisco Gutiérrez, Djamil Al-Halbouni

Abstract

The endorheic Konya Basin is a vast aggradational plain in Central Anatolia, Türkiye. It occupies a significant portion of Konya Province, covering approximately 50,000 km². The basin is subjected to intense groundwater withdrawal and extensive agricultural activities with excessive irrigation. These activities have led to human-induced hazards, such as sinkholes and regional land subsidence. Although sinkhole occurrence mainly occurs in the Karapınar area, land subsidence is primarily observed in the central sector of Konya city, with 2 million inhabitants, as well as in various parts of the basin. This study focuses on determining the extent and rate of land subsidence throughout the basin, understanding sinkhole formation, and unraveling their relationship with anthropogenic activities. For this purpose, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analysis of Sentinel-1 data from 2014 to 2022 was conducted to identify and assess land subsidence. We also used the land cover data and groundwater-level information to better understand the spatial and temporal patterns of land subsidence and sinkhole occurrence. Additionally, the land cover data were used to resolve spatial–temporal variations in the cultivated area and urbanization, which are the main factors governing groundwater exploitation in the region. Our study identified widespread subsidence zones with rates as high as 90 mm/y. Groundwater overexploitation to sustain extensive agricultural operations is the main cause of the high rate of land subsidence. Additionally, it was discovered that the number of sinkholes has substantially increased due to anthropogenic influences, currently amounting to as many as 660.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Photogrammetrie und Geoinformation

Externe Organisation(en)

Mersin University
KTO Karatay University
Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University
Universidad de Zaragoza
Universität Leipzig

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Geosciences (Switzerland)

Band

14

Anzahl der Seiten

22

Publikationsdatum

2024

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Erdkunde und Planetologie (insg.)

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 11 – Nachhaltige Städte und Gemeinschaften

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14010005 (Zugang: Offen)