Two-Dimensional Analysis of Long-Term Settlement in the Reclaimed Land of Mokpo New Port

초록

This study uses satellite-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) to monitor long-term ground deformation in the reclaimed land of Mokpo New Port and to evaluate the applicability of a hyperbolic regression function to settlement time series. Reclaimed land formed on soft marine deposits is highly susceptible to long-term consolidation settlement because of the heterogeneous distribution of weak strata, complex filling and embankment histories, and spatial variability in loading conditions, and therefore requires continuous deformation monitoring for stability assessment and maintenance planning. Time-segmented persistent scatterer InSAR (TS-PSInSAR) was applied to InSAR time series acquired from ascending and descending orbits between 2017 and 2021 to reconstruct vertical displacements and east–west horizontal displacements over the study area. The results show that zones of concentrated settlement coexist with relatively stable zones within the reclaimed land, indicating a spatially heterogeneous deformation pattern that reflects locally varying ground conditions and superstructure loads rather than a single uniform consolidation process. In addition, the east–west horizontal displacement vectors exhibit a consistent directional trend in some areas, suggesting that the ground response of the reclaimed land should be interpreted as a composite deformation field involving coupled vertical and lateral components rather than as purely one-dimensional settlement. The hyperbolic regression function applied to the InSAR-derived vertical displacement time series effectively captures empirically the long-term consolidation-dominated behaviour at sites where settlement rates decay progressively over time. However, changes in loading conditions, external disturbances, and limitations in the length and quality of the observation records reduce the explanatory power of a single hyperbolic model at some locations, implying that the hyperbolic method is more appropriate as a practical tool for evaluating the stage of settlement and the degree of relative stabilization than as a means of absolutely predicting final settlement. These findings indicate that combining InSAR with hyperbolic regression provides an effective framework for identifying vulnerable zones within reclaimed land, interpreting long-term settlement behaviour, and supporting the development of maintenance strategies. In particular, the complementary use of wide-area InSAR monitoring and local in situ measurements is expected to enhance the reliability of long-term stability assessments and maintenance-related decision-making for port reclamation areas. Copyright © 2026 Korean Society of Remote Sensing. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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