InSAR measurements of compaction and subsidence in the Ganges‐Brahmaputra Delta, Bangladesh

Abstract Many of the world′s largest river deltas are sinking due to sediment loading, compaction, and tectonics but also recently because of groundwater extraction, hydrocarbon extraction, and reduced aggradation. Little is known, however, about the full spatial variability of subsidence rates in complex delta systems. This study reconstructs subsidence rates in the eastern portion of the Ganges‐Brahmaputra Delta (GBD), Bangladesh, covering more than 10,000 km 2 at a high spatial resolution of 100 m. The map was produced using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) covering the period 2007 to 2011. Eighteen Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased‐Array L‐band SAR scenes were used to generate 30 interferograms calibrated with GPS. Interferograms were stacked to yield average subsidence rates over the study period.…