Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID ND-2025-Lim-1

Assessing Groundwater Dynamics of North Dakota's Alluvial and Glacial Aquifers Using InSAR and Subsidence Analysis

Institute: North Dakota
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $13,200 Total Non-Federal Funds: $13,201

Principal Investigators: Yeo Howe Lim

Project Summary: Groundwater stored in surficial alluvial and glacial aquifers is a vital resource for agriculture and rural communities across North Dakota. However, the absence of dense well networks and continuous monitoring limits the ability to detect changes in aquifer storage and identify areas of potential overuse. This study investigates the use of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to monitor surface deformation as a proxy for aquifer storage change in shallow, unconsolidated aquifer systems. Using Sentinel-1 SAR data, time series of vertical land motion will be generated. The study area will be defined using USGS-mapped alluvial and glacial aquifer extents north of the southernmost line of glaciation, with a focus on aquifers in North Dakota. Patterns of seasonal uplift and subsidence will be analyzed to infer storage changes and correlated with available groundwater level data. The goal is to evaluate the feasibility to support groundwater resource management in shallow aquifers.