An iterative PS-InSAR method for the analysis of large spatio-temporal baseline data stacks for land subsidence estimation

South-west of Tehran, the capital city of Iran, is subjected to a high deformation rate due to excessive groundwater extractions. Persistent Scatterrer SAR Interferometry (PS-InSAR) technique is used to monitor Tehran’s deformation. Three time series data including two Sentinel-1A (S-1A) spanning from 2014 to 2017, and an ENVISAT-ASAR data stack spanning from 2004 to 2010, are analyzed. The PS-InSAR technique does not perform well on ENVISAT-ASAR due to poor selection of PS points induced by large perpendicular baselines and strong temporal decorrelation of the dataset. In this paper, a novel Iterative PSI method (IPSI) is proposed to increase the PS points which are lost in PS-InSAR technique because of the unsuccessful derivation of the absolute phase value due to an integer ambiguity. The method selects PS points based on simultaneous analysis of their amplitude and phase. Results demonstrate that the density of PSs has been increased by about 4.5 times. Line of Sight (LOS) velocities obtained from both S-1A and ENVISAT-ASAR data analysis are highly compatible with each other, indicating the reliability of the both applied methods. The maximum cumulative displacements are estimated as 39.6 cm and 88.4 cm for Sentinel-1A and ENVISAT-ASAR datasets respectively. Moreover, the subsidence area has grown in the period between the data acquisition time. The methods are successfully validated by subsidence rates obtained from precise leveling and GPS observations.     

Site characterizations for the Tehran network (TDMMO) in Tehran Region Using Micro-Earthquake,Microtremor and Quarry Blast Data

We did a Study of Horizontal-to-Vertical Component Spectral Ratio in the Tehran seismic zone. Micro-earthquakes, microtremors and quarry blasts data were used as an estimation of the site response in the Tehran zone. Site effects were studied based on horizontal to vertical ratios by the Nakamura׳s technique. Also, we used the spectra of signals for three components with the lowest noise levels for spectral slope studies. The analysis used seismic events from a network of 13 seismic stations by the permanent local seismological network of the Tehran Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization (TDMMO) from 2004 to 2007. The number of events used were different for each station. Quarry blast events were with 1.2≤M_L≤2.2 and micro-earthquakes were with 1.1≤M_L≤4.1.By comparing results for earthquake, microtremor and quarry blast, we could see that there is a significant difference between them. The data showed clear observations, especially in high-frequencies. The H/V spectral ratios indicate dominant frequency for rock/soft site with a higher ratio level for quarry blast ratios, which are comparable to the earthquake results due to their difference sources. The results derived by spectral H/V ratios and spectral analysis may be used to distinguish between local earthquakes and quarry blasts.     

Modeling relationships between the network distance and travel time dynamics for assessing equity of accessibility to urban parks

Static models of accessibility are usually based on the fixed distance or Average Travel Time (ATT) models. Because of ignoring the traffic as a dynamic process affecting the accessibility through the change of Travel Time (TT), these models lead to unperceived temporal inequities. In contrast to the consideration of the temporal Variation of TT (VTT) in the previous studies, the variation of traffic- related TT and its relations with network distance has not been considered. In this study, relations between VTT and network distance to access urban parks in Tehran megacity has been modeled. Traffic maps at five times of day are used to produce TT maps of Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs) to their 3-closest parks. Comparison of the Gini coefficients of accessibility show significant inequities of accessibility at different times of day. Relations between the distance, ATT, and TTmax are modeled by statistical analysis. Results show both TT and TTmax have significant positive relations with distance and traffic and reach their maximum at 6 p.m. Observation of significant relations between distance, ATT, TTmax, and VTT provides interesting knowledge for the conversion of temporal measures of equity (TT) to a physical measure of equity (distance). A simple application of these findings for effective management of the spatiotemporal inequities is the definition of critical distances from public services. As an example, to decrease the TTmax of TAZs to less than 12 min, their maximum distance to the closest parks should be less than 4 km. The developed approach can be adopted for the accessibility evaluation of the other public services, particularly the health and education centers.     

Measuring Food Deserts via GIS-Based Multicriteria Decision Making: The Case of Tehran

The purpose of this article is to identify food deserts using a geographic information system (GIS)-based multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) approach in the city of Tehran. We have found that, compared to technocratic methods, GIS-based MCDM and taking into account people or their agents' opinions in the food deserts analysis leads to different results. Whereas measuring food deserts based on the distance to large retail food stores indicated that a large part of the northern neighborhoods of Tehran do not have access to large food stores, identifying the food desert through the GIS-based MCDM approach revealed that northern neighborhoods of Tehran have relatively good access to healthy, affordable food. In addition, results indicated that individual factors have a more effective role than environmental factors in food accessibility. Food accessibility analysis revealed that more than 26.6 percent of Tehran's people (2,049,796) are living in very low and low food accessibility areas. Accordingly, to achieve a relatively healthy and inclusive food environment, establishment of a food council, development of mobile food markets and farmers' markets, extension of public transport, enhancement of food literacy, and community-based development of small full-service grocery stores, especially in southern and western sections of Tehran, should be pursued. In addition, addressing Tehran's food desert issues would be incomplete without due attention to the wider political and economic environment.     

Integration of logistic regression,Markov chain and cellular automata models to simulate urban expansion

This research analyses the suburban expansion in the metropolitan area of Tehran, Iran. A hybrid model consisting of logistic regression model, Markov chain (MC), and cellular automata (CA) was designed to improve the performance of the standard logistic regression model. Environmental and socio-economic variables dealing with urban sprawl were operationalised to create a probability surface of spatiotemporal states of built-up land use for the years 2006, 2016, and 2026. For validation, the model was evaluated by means of relative operating characteristic values for different sets of variables. The approach was calibrated for 2006 by cross comparing of actual and simulated land use maps. The achieved outcomes represent a match of 89% between simulated and actual maps of 2006, which was satisfactory to approve the calibration process. Thereafter, the calibrated hybrid approach was implemented for forthcoming years. Finally, future land use maps for 2016 and 2026 were predicted by means of this hybrid approach. The simulated maps illustrate a new wave of suburban development in the vicinity of Tehran at the western border of the metropolis during the next decades.     

Microseismicity in the region of Tehran

We record and analyze small earthquakes around Tehran, Iran, using the permanent seismological network of the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Tehran and two temporary dense seismological networks installed for several weeks during 1999 and 2000. Regional seismicity is distributed throughout Central Alborz, extending from the Caspian Sea to the Iran Plain, with the highest level of activity east of Tehran related to the Mosha and to the Garmsar faults, which both dip northward and have had strong historical earthquakes. Our focal mechanisms, the first for these faults, confirm a left lateral strike slip motion.     

The 2004 May 28 Baladeh earthquake (Mw 6.2) in the Alborz, Iran: overthrusting the South Caspian Basin margin, partitioning of oblique convergence and the seismic hazard of Tehran

We use teleseismic waveform analysis and locally recorded aftershock data to investigate the source processes of the 2004 Baladeh earthquake, which is the only substantial earthquake to have occurred in the central Alborz mountains of Iran in the modern instrumental era. The earthquake involved slip at 10–30 km depth, with a south-dipping aftershock zone also restricted to the range 10–30 km, which is unusually deep for Iran. These observations are consistent with co-seismic slip on a south-dipping thrust that projects to the surface at the sharp topographic front on the north side of the Alborz. This line is often called the Khazar Fault, and is assumed to be a south-dipping thrust which bounds the north side of the Alborz range and the south side of the South Caspian Basin, though its actual structure and significance are not well understood. The lack of shallower aftershocks may be due to the thick pile of saturated, overpressured sediments in the South Caspian basin that are being overthrust by the Alborz. A well-determined earthquake slip vector, in a direction different from the overall shortening direction across the range determined by GPS, confirms a spatial separation ('partitioning') of left-lateral strike-slip and thrust faulting in the Alborz. These strike-slip and thrust fault systems do not intersect within the seismogenic layer on the north side, though they may do so on the south. The earthquake affected the capital, Tehran, and reveals a seismic threat posed by earthquakes north of the Alborz, located on south-dipping thrusts, as well as by earthquakes on the south side of the range, closer to the city.     

Seismic hazard assessment of Tehran,Iran with emphasis on near-fault rupture directivity effects

Many destructive earthquakes happened in Tehran, Iran in the last centuries. The existence of active faults like the North Tehran is the main cause of seismicity in this city. According to past investigations, it is estimated that in the scenario of activation of the North Tehran fault, many structures in Tehran will collapse. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate the near field rupture directivity effects of this fault into the seismic hazard assessment of important sites in Tehran. In this study, using calculations coded in MATLAB,Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis(PSHA) is conducted for an important site in Tehran. Following that, deaggregation technique is performed on PSHA and the contribution of seismic scenarios to hazard is obtained in the range of distance and magnitude. After identifying the North Tehran fault as the most hazardous source affecting the site in 10000-year return period, rupture directivity effects of this fault is incorporated into the seismic hazard assessment using Somerville et al.(1997) model with broadband approach and Shahi and Baker(2011) model with narrowband approach. The results show that the narrowband approach caused a 27% increase in the peak of response spectrum in 10000-year return period compared with the conventional PSHA. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate the near fault rupture directivity effects into the higher levels of seismic hazard assessment attributed to important sites.     

Assessment of nitrate contamination in unsaturated zone of urban areas: The case study of Tehran,Iran

Modeling fate of nitrogen in unsaturated and saturated zone is a complex process, which requires detailed geochemical data. Complexities of the process as well as data insufficiencies are two major issues, which make quantitative assessment of the problem more complicated. In this work, a lumped-parameter model (LPM) is proposed that has been evaluated for a data-limited case to study temporal and steady-state behavior of Nitrate and Ammonium in unsaturated zone. The concentration of components in the model are assumed as the depth-averaged concentrations, and dispersive fluxes have been neglected. The case study area is Tehran City aquifer, which is highly contaminated by domestic wastewater discharge into the groundwater. Three sources for Nitrogen contamination have been studied, namely domestic wastewater, park/recreational applications, and wet deposition. Results show that Nitrate production in the first few meters (<5 m) is quite large. To compare the model results with the measurements, error estimation analysis based on Vornoi map has been fulfilled. Finally, it is shown that there is a fairly good correlation coefficient between simulation and measurements, which approves the validity of the LPM.     

Active faults in the Zagros and central Iran

Active tectonic movements in the northwestern Zagros include right lateral slip at the rate of about 10 mm/a along the Main Recent Fault, which inherits the position of the Main Thrust, now inactive, and active thrusting and accompanying folding distributed between several zones southwest of the Main Recent Fault. In the southeastern Zagros (the Fars Province), there are several right lateral faults that extend N–S obliquely to the overall trend of the Zagros fault-and-fold belt. These may be either branches of the Main Recent Fault, or faults accommodating relative broadening of the outer Zagros in its southeastern segment. The Main Thrust in the southeastern Zagros also remains inactive.

The Ipak, North Tehran, and Mosha fault zones and several minor structures in the eastern Alborz form the E–W-trending active fault system with combined reverse and left lateral slip. On the Ipak and Mosha zones, lateral movements with the late Quaternary mean rate exceeding 1 mm/a dominate over vertical fault movements. Together with right lateral faults stretching northeast of Zagros, the faults of the Alborz may accommodate east-directed motion of the Iranian microplate.