Photogrammetry and distinct element geomechanical modelling of sinkholes and large scale karstic depressions Sinkholes and depressions are typical landforms of karst regions. They pose a considerable natural hazard to infrastructure agriculture economy and human life in affected areas worldwide. The physio chemical processes of sinkholes and depression formation are manifold ranging from dissolution and material erosion in the subsurface to mechanical subsidence failure of the overburden. This thesis addresses the mechanisms leading to the development of sinkholes and depressions by using complementary methods: remote sensing distinct element modelling and near surface geophysics. In the first part detailed information about the (hydro) geological background ground structures morphologies and spatio temporal development of sinkholes and depressions at a very active karst area at the Dead Sea are derived from satellite image analysis photogrammetry and geologic field surveys. There clusters of an increasing number of sinkholes have been developing since the 1980s within large scale depressions and are distributed over different kinds of surface materials: clayey mud sandy gravel alluvium and lacustrine evaporites (salt). The morphology of sinkholes differs depending in which material they form: Sinkholes in sandy gravel alluvium and salt are generally deeper and narrower than sinkholes in the interbedded evaporite and mud deposits. ...