Solid Earth
The industrial district of Shenyang and Anshan plays an important role in the economic and social development of Northeast China. The mining activities strongly impact local environment due to ground excavations of coal and iron extraction. Anshan and Shenyang are subjected to multi-hazard including subsidence, landslides, and building damages. Results from the Dragon-4 project revealed landslides around open-pit mines, building instability and structural damages. In addition, the tunnel construction of underground lines at Shenyang has triggered surface fissuring, subsidence and sinkholes. The monitoring of such hazards is of fundamental importance to minimize and prevent the risks. In this proposal, we foresee to continue the monitoring activities started with the Dragon-4 project by means of multi-source remote sensing data at Shenyang and Anshan. Our Dragon-5 proposal will also consider a new study site, the Changbaishan active volcano (Jilin Province, ~300 km east from Shenyang). This volcano last erupted in 1903 and was responsible for the largest eruption of the last millennium in 946 CE. Changbaishan is affected by landslides, earthquakes and ground deformation. Deformation phenomena occurred during the 2002-2006 unrest episode and in 2017, when a nuclear test in North Korea triggered landslides. The multi-hazard exposure of Changbaishan is high because a population of ~135000 in China and 31000 in North Korea lives within 50 km from the volcano. In addition 2000000/yr tourists visit the Changbaishan volcano UNESCO National Reserve. We choose the topic ‘Solid Earth’ and the following sub-topics: 1.2-Monitoring of surface deformation and large landslides for the Shenyang, Anshan and Changbaishan sites 1.1-Seismic deformation monitoring for the Changbaishan site 1.4-Subsurface target detection for the Changbaishan hydrothermal and/or magma reservoir. The main goals of this proposal are to take advantage of the availability of remote sensing data to: 1) monitor and analyze the different hazards and environmental impact due to heavy industrial activity at Shenyang and Anshan areas and to natural phenomena at Changbaishan; 2) identification and modeling of single and multiple hazards, identifying the cross-related influence and causing factors; 3) forecast when and how hazards might happen, generate hazard scenarios, and provide support for disaster prevention and damage reduction to Authorities. The methodology to achieve the above objectives is the collaborative analysis of multi-source EO data, by means of InSAR time-series, VNIR optical data series, seismic, geochemical, laser scanning data and modeling. Time series InSAR allow to analyze the spatial and temporal deformation over large areas. Using both ascending and descending orbits, we will monitor such phenomena considering different sensors and different band frequency. We will decompose the LoS deformation into the Up and E-W directions to better constrain the deformation field. Volcanic deformation and landslide movements occur in both vertical and horizontal directions. We will adopt a multi-orbit InSAR time-series fusion approach with the assistance of high resolution DEMs generated by laser scanning. The deformation patterns will be validated with leveling and geodetic data. The volcanic source inversion will also be carried out by means of modeling. The hazards in traditional industrial regions and volcanic areas may be due to multiple causes. Instead of only monitoring a single hazard, this project aims to detect the spatio-temporal evolution of processes causative of multiple hazards via data modeling and assimilation techniques. The proposed research also foresees the exchange of young scientists. We apply for funding for the young scientist within this project and agencies in both Countries. Funding are also available from INGV and internal active projects.
