Satellite-based vertical land motion for infrastructure monitoring: A prototype roadmap in Greater Houston, Texas

Coastal regions are critical hubs for industries reliant on transport and storage. However, vital infrastructure including above-ground storage tanks (ASTs), which store hazardous materials, is vulnerable to flooding and often exacerbated by subsidence (negative vertical land motion; VLM). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plays a key role in mitigating risks from ASTs. Satellite remote sensing provides a powerful tool to assess hazards and inform decision-making. Here, we present a roadmap for integrating remotely-sensed observations into decision-making frameworks. Using NASA Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA) VLM products derived from Sentinel-1, we map VLM at ~30 m resolution across Greater Houston-Galveston. Our analysis reveals widespread, spatially varying subsidence. We determine where VLM trends were linear from 2016 to 2023 and extrapolate them to estimate future VLM. Combining sea-level rise (SLR) scenarios with VLM data, we estimate that by 2050 ASTs in the region will experience at least 26.1 cm of relative SLR, with 10 (14.9%) exposed to more than 60 cm. Integrating a hydrodynamic model with spatially varying relative SLR shows that flooding hazards are amplified during a Hurricane Harvey–like event under future conditions. Overall, we demonstrate the importance of incorporating high-resolution VLM into hazard assessments to support decision-making.