DEFORMATION EFFECTS OF DAMS ON COASTAL REGIONS USING SENTINEL-1 IW TOPS TIME SERIES: THE WEST LESVOS, GREECE CASE

Abstract. Coastal zones are vulnerable to erosion and loss by level sea rise. Subsidence caused by the reduction of fluvial sediments in coastal zones found close to dams, is another important deformation factor. Quantification of the deformation rate of coastal region is essential for natural and anthropogenic activities. The study utilizes Interferometric SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) techniques and exploits the archive of Sentinel-1 TOPS data for the period 2014–2016. The freely available, wide ground coverage (250 × 170 km) and small temporal resolution Sentinel-1 TOPS datasets are promising for coastal applications. Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) methodologies are considered state-of-the-art remote sensing approaches for land deformation monitoring. The selected PSI method is the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) multitemporal InSAR technique. The study area of this study is the coastal zone of west region of Lesvos Island, Greece. The main characteristic of the area is the reduction of the fluvial sediment supply from the coastal drainage basins due to construction of dams and the abstraction of riverine sediments. The study demonstrates the potentials of the SBAS method for measuring and mapping the dynamic changes in coastal topography in terms of subsidence rates and discusses its advantages and limitations. The results show that natural and rural environments appear to have diverse ground deformation patterns.