Land subsidence in the United States
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- More information: USGS Index Page (html)
- Document: Report (pdf)
- NGMDB Index Pages:
- Land subsidence in the United States (html)
- Santa Clara Valley chapter (html)
- San Joaquin Valley, California chapter (html)
- Houston-Galveston, Texas chapter (html)
- Las Vegas, Nevada chapter (html)
- South-central Arizona chapter (html)
- Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta chapter (html)
- Florida Everglades chapter (html)
- Retsof Salt Mine collapse chapter (html)
- Sink holes, west-central Florida chapter (html)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
This report explores the role of science in defining and understanding subsidence problems, and shows that the optimal use of our land and water resources may depend on improved scientific understanding to minimize subsidence. More than 80 percent of the identified land subsidence in the Nation is a consequence of human impact on subsurface water, and is an often overlooked environmental consequence of our land- and water-use practices. Nine illustrative case studies demonstrate the role of subsurface water in human-induced land subsidence. These studies represent three distinct processes that account for most of the water-related subsidence--compaction of aquifer systems, drainage and subsequent oxidation of organic soils, and dissolution and collapse of susceptible rocks. The compaction of alluvial aquifer systems that can accompany excessive ground-water pumping and resulting ground-water level declines is, by far, the single largest cause of subsidence.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Land subsidence in the United States |
| Series title | Circular |
| Series number | 1182 |
| ISBN | 0607926961 |
| DOI | 10.3133/cir1182 |
| Year Published | 1999 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Contributing office(s) | Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center |
| Description | viii, 177 p. |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Continental United States |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |