Toward sustainable inland aquaculture: Coastal subsidence monitoring in Taiwan

Inland aquaculture is a major industry that provides fish to reduce the stress of oceans in supplying global protein consumption. Developed and developing nations house their inland aquaculture industries largely in coastal areas, where groundwater is pumped to supply the needed water in a non-sustainable way that leads to coastal land subsidence. This study shows a comprehensive picture of land subsidence in Pingtung, a coastal plain in southern Taiwan, where, after the gradual abandonment of rice cultivation, huge groundwater exploitation has occurred since the 1970s to feed inland aquaculture. Integrated interpretation of multidevice monitoring results has improved knowledge of land subsidence associated with land uses and groundwater pumping. Results indicate a maximum cumulative subsidence of 350 cm from 1972 to 2019 near the aquaculture-rich township of Linbian. Sub-surface displacement measurements using multilayer compaction wells identified the de-watered layers responsible for the land subsidence in four sinking-affected coastal areas, where different groundwater usage patterns lead to different patterns of aquifer-system compactions at varying depths. The use of SAR interferometry with high spatial resolution and frequent revisit times has made it possible to overcome the inherent limitations of ground-based measurement methodologies such as leveling, continuous global navigation satellite system, and multilayer compaction wells, which while very accurate do not allow for adequate monitoring of subsidence in the Pingtung coastland due to the high dynamics and spatial variability of the process. Based on the results of this study, several sustainable aquaculture-related actions are being implemented or have been proposed to reduce the risks of land subsidence, flooding, and salinization in Pingtung. These include the use of InSAR monitoring for conventional sensors to continuously and timely monitor land subsidence.