Application and analysis of geodetic protocols for monitoring subsidence phenomena along on-shore hydrocarbon reservoirs

• Published in: International journal of applied earth observation and geoinformation Vol. 69; pp. 13 - 26
• Main Authors: Montuori, Antonio, Anderlini, Letizia, Palano, Mimmo, Albano, Matteo, Pezzo, Giuseppe, Antoncecchi, Ilaria, Chiarabba, Claudio, Serpelloni, Enrico, Stramondo, Salvatore
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.07.2018
• Subjects: Geodetic protocols; GPS; Hydrocarbon exploitation; Multi-temporal DInSAR; Subsidence; Multi-temporal DInSAR; Subsidence; GPS; Hydrocarbon exploitation; Geodetic protocols
• ISSN: 1569-8432; 1872-826X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jag.2018.02.011

•GPS and DInSAR are tested as monitoring protocols on hydrocarbon reservoirs.•Geodetic protocols describe deformations due to natural and anthropogenic factors.•Multi-temporal DInSAR results exhibit low sensitivity to hydrocarbon exploitation. In this study, we tested the “land-subsidence monitoring guidelines” proposed by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE), to study ground deformations along on-shore hydrocarbon reservoirs. We propose protocols that include the joint use of Global Positioning System (GPS) and multi-temporal Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) techniques, for a twofold purpose: a) monitoring land subsidence phenomena along selected areas after defining the background of ground deformations; b) analyzing possible relationships between hydrocarbon exploitation and anomalous deformation patterns. Experimental results, gathered along the Ravenna coastline (northern Italy) and in the southeastern Sicily (southern Italy), show wide areas of subsidence mainly related to natural and anthropogenic processes. Moreover, ground deformations retrieved through multi-temporal DInSAR time series exhibit low sensitivity as well as poor spatial and temporal correlation with hydrocarbon exploitation activities. Results allow evaluating the advantages and limitations of proposed protocols, to improve the techniques and security standards established by MISE guidelines for monitoring on-shore hydrocarbon reservoirs.