Integrating InSAR-Derived Land Subsidence With Groundwater Trends Across Utah

Land subsidence has been occurring in the Western U.S. since the early 1900s. In southwestern Utah, evidence for land subsidence and earth fissures related to excessive groundwater withdrawal dates back to the early 2000s. However, there has yet to be a survey to identify or monitor land subsidence throughout the state of Utah. In this study, we process InSAR time series across the state, using freely available datasets from ALOS-1 (2006-2011), Sentinel-1 (2015-2025), and ALOS-2 ScanSAR (2015-2025). We identify land subsidence with rates ranging from 0.5 cm/year (Snake Valley) to 4 cm/year (Escalante Desert) over the past 20 years, as well as highlight seasonal signals with amplitudes of up to 2 cm/year (Salt Lake Valley). We demonstrate the feasibility of combining these results with groundwater level trends to estimate aquifer properties and storage change on a regional scale. Finally, we discuss how novel regional datasets, such as those produced by the OPERA North America DISP Product, may be able to inform future groundwater-flow models.