Is land subsidence increasing the exposure to sea level rise in Alexandria, Egypt?

Guy Wöppelmann; Gonéri Le Cozannet; Marcello de Michele; Daniel Raucoules; Anny Cazenave; Manuel Garcin; Susan Hanson; Marta Marcos; Alvaro Santamaría‐Gómez

doi:10.1002/grl.50568

journal article Jun 18, 2013

Is land subsidence increasing the exposure to sea level rise in Alexandria, Egypt?

Guy Wöppelmann Gonéri Le Cozannet Marcello de Michele Daniel Raucoules Anny Cazenave

Manuel Garcin Susan Hanson Marta Marcos

Alvaro Santamaría‐Gómez

Geophysical Research Letters Vol. 40 No. 12 pp. 2953-2957 · American Geophysical Union (AGU)

View at Publisher Save 10.1002/grl.50568

Abstract

AbstractDelta margins are subject to relatively high rates of land subsidence and have the potential to significantly exacerbate future changes in sea levels predicted by global warming models used in impact studies. Through a combined analysis of GPS and persistent scatterer interferometry data, we determine that most of the coastline of Alexandria has been subject to moderate land subsidence over the past decade (0.4 mm/yr on average and up to 2 mm/yr locally). This contrasts to previous studies that suggested subsidence in excess of 3 mm/yr. Based on our findings, we infer that on multi‐century to millennia timescales, land subsidence in the area of Alexandria is dominated by tectonic setting and earthquakes or gravitational collapse episodes of a growth fault, whereas on shorter interseismic decadal to century timescales, subsidence rates are likely steady and moderate, in agreement with natural compaction and dewatering of the observed Holocene sediment layer.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

26

[1]

10.1002/9781444323276.ch9

[2]

10.1029/2006gl028171

[3]

10.1007/s10712-011-9119-1

[4]

10.1029/91jc00064

[5]

10.1016/j.gloplacha.2005.07.004

[6]

10.1109/36.898661

[7]

10.1007/s12665-009-0340-x

[8]

10.1007/s10584-010-9977-4

[9]

10.1029/jb094ib07p09463

[10]

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission(2012) Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS): Implementation plan 2012 Intergov. Oceanogr. Comm. Tech. Ser. 100 Paris.

[11]

10.1029/2003gl019106

[12]

10.14358/pers.71.2.197

[13]

10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.01.013

[14]

10.5194/nhess-8-779-2008

[15]

Research Institute for Groundwater(1992) Nile Delta. Hydrogeological map of Egypt. Minist. of Publ. Works and Water Resour. Cairo.

[16]

10.1016/j.gloplacha.2012.07.007

[17]

10.1038/ngeo151

[18]

10.1016/0025-3227(90)90108-v

[19]

Stanley D. J. "Mediterranean deltas: Subsidence as a major control of relative sea‐level rise" Bull. Institut. Océanogr. Monaco (1997)

[20]

10.2112/08-0013.1

[21]

10.1126/science.260.5108.628

[22]

Stanley J.‐D. "Human impact on sediment mass movement and submergence of ancient sites in the two harbours of Alexandria, Egypt" Norw. J. Geol. (2006)

[23]

10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.12.002

[24]

10.1029/2011jc007469

[25]

10.1029/2008gl035783

[26]

10.1029/2009gl038720

Cited By

65

Persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) technique for road infrastructure monitoring: a case study of the roadway network of the Nile Delta (Egypt)

Heba Basyouni Ibrahim, Mahmoud Salah · 2024

Innovative Infrastructure Solutions

Climate change impacts in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region and their implications for vulnerable population groups

Katharina Waha, Linda Krummenauer · 2017

Regional Environmental Change

Evidence for a differential sea level rise between hemispheres over the twentieth century

Guy Wöppelmann, Marta Marcos · 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

Metrics

65

Citations

26

References

Details

Published: Jun 18, 2013
Vol/Issue: 40(12)
Pages: 2953-2957
License: View

Authors

G

Guy Wöppelmann

LIENSs, Université de La Rochelle—CNRS La Rochelle France

BRGM Orléans France

BRGM Orléans France

BRGM Orléans France

LEGOS Toulouse France

BRGM Orléans France

Faculty of Engineering and the Environment University of Southampton Southampton England UK

M

Marta Marcos

IMEDEA (CSIC—UIB) Esporles Spain

A

Alvaro Santamaría‐Gómez

LIENSs, Université de La Rochelle—CNRS La Rochelle France; IGN, Observatorio de Yebes Guadalajara Spain

Funding

French Research National Agency (ANR) Award: ANR-09-CEP-001-01

Cite This Article

Guy Wöppelmann, Gonéri Le Cozannet, Marcello de Michele, et al. (2013). Is land subsidence increasing the exposure to sea level rise in Alexandria, Egypt?. Geophysical Research Letters, 40(12), 2953-2957. https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50568

Is land subsidence increasing the exposure to sea level rise in Alexandria, Egypt?

You May Also Like