DInsar Analysis of differential ground subsidence affecting urban areas along the Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB)

Most of the urban areas located in the Central and Northern sectors of the Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB) during the last two decades registered differential ground subsidence along preferential directions parallel to the regional fault system. The combination of the consolidation of soft terrains due to groundwater withdrawal with the presence of regional and local systems of normal faults has been addressed as the controlling factors of the spatial distribution of the ground movements. In this paper we present the preliminary results of a DInSAR analysis carried out over the main cities of the MVB using ENVISAT data spanning the period 2003-2006. The analysis revealed the presence of ground displacements along the same linear structures as identified in the field, reaching at some locations velocities up to 6-7 cm/year.