Groundwater overexploitation has triggered widespread land subsidence across the North China Plain, posing significant risks to urban infrastructure. Using time-series interferometric synthetic aperture radar data from 2017 to 2025, this study investigated the spatiotemporal evolution of vertical land motion in Xingtai, a region influenced by the interplay of anthropogenic interventions, tectonic structures, and extreme climate events. Our analysis reveals a stark spatial contrast: while eastern areas exhibit persistent subsidence exceeding −50 mm/year due to industrial groundwater demand, the western sector and Longyao County have exhibited localized uplift (10 to 20 mm/year) since 2017, affirming the efficacy of mitigation policies such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Time-series analysis identifies two distinct uplift mechanisms: a gradual, policy-driven aquifer recovery confined by local faults, and an abrupt, transient pulse triggered by the July 2021 extreme precipitation event. Furthermore, deformation discontinuities across the Longyao ground fissures are attributed to differential subsidence rather than deep-seated tectonic creep. These findings highlight the critical coupling between long-term water management and acute climatic disturbances in shaping surface deformation, emphasizing the need for integrated strategies for sustainable groundwater governance and hazard mitigation in water-stressed regions.
Sun et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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