Investigating and zoning land subsidence using Aras multi-criteria model analysis, case study: Ardabil plain)

Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate and analyze the most important factors involved in creating the risk of subsidence in the Ardabil plain and to identify the susceptible surfaces that are likely to be involved in subsidence in the near future. The purpose of this research in the first stage is to evaluate the subsidence using radar interferometry technique in the Sarscape software environment, using the capabilities of A1 Sentinel images in the time frame of 2016 and 2021, and also in the following, in relation to the zoning of susceptible areas with the algorithm Aras multi-criteria was implemented in Edrisi software environment. The results of the present study showed that between 0 and 22 mm of subsidence has occurred in the studied area, and the highest amount of subsidence is concentrated in the central part and then in the eastern and north-eastern parts. According to the results of subsidence risk zoning; The criteria of water level drop, distance from the river, geology, and land use are the most important factors involved in creating the risk of subsidence in the study area, respectively, with a weighting factor of 0.221, 0.166, 0.152, and 0.147, respectively, and 267/41 and 403/21 square kilometers of the range have a very high probability of danger. Finally, it can be said that the most important factor involved in increasing the amount and potential of subsidence in the Ardabil plain is the excessive use of underground water and the drop in the water level.