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Geology News
Subsidence Current Events

Some geologists say that the Texas Sinkhole might be related to salt water disposal. However, Texas regulatory agencies say that the cause of the sinkhole remains undetermined. The sinkhole is now about 900 feet across and 260 feet deep.

A large sinkhole that seems to have formed near an injection well site has grown to over 400 yards wide. Reports say that Route 770 near Daisetta, Texas (about 40 miles northeast of Houston) is threatened by the expanding hole.

Sinkhole Report from KNBC Texas

Venice, the City of Canals, has long been sinking into the sea. An expensive project to install steel flood gates is already underway, but now officials are considering something else - putting the city on stilts.

I really like to see publications like this placed on the web where citizens have free access to valuable information prepared by government agencies. This publication includes chapters on floods, earthquakes, problem soils, mass movements, subsidence and earth fissures, radon, karst, abandon mines, volcanic hazards and radon. Every state should have a publication like this on their website.

Subsidence began in the town of Staufen, located in southwestern Germany after a geothermal heating system was installed in a public building. Now, at least 68 buildings have been damaged.

Subsidence of about 1 mm per week has been experienced in the town of Staufen, located in southwestern Germany after a geothermal heating system was installed in a public building.

Subsidence in large areas of southern Louisiana is occurring at a rate of five to ten centimeters per year. This contributes to a variety of problems which include: sea level rise, shoreline erosion, wetland loss, hurricane vulnerability and more.

Homeowners in La Quinta, California are preparing to sue the Coachella Valley Water District because the agency’s overuse of ground water caused subsidence that damaged their homes. The homeowners are supplied with water by CVWD.

A combination of subsidence and sea level rise threatens China’s important coastal cities such as Shanghai and Tianjin. Ground water pumping is a major contributor to their subsidence.

Communities in the Coachella Valley are seeing subsidence, sometimes over one inch per year. USGS and local agencies are blaming the subsidence on ground water production at rates greatly exceeding recharge.

Earth fissures are cracks in the ground that are often associated with heavy ground water production. They have been a special problem in Pinal County, Arizona. This article presents the problem and refers to a free downloadable report on Land Subsidence and Earth Fissures at the Arizona Geological Survey’s website.

Shanghai continues to see annual subsidence of a few millimaters per year. Some of the subsidence is blamed on downtown construction activities (ground water pumping associated with excavation dewatering can lead to subsidence). The government is banning pumping for industrial and agricultural purposes.

Within the Pittsburgh city limits a homeowner has underground water that flows from his property onto a city street. Should he be fined for that discharge or should he receive government aid? This article explores a few of the many abandoned mine problems in Pennsylvania. Statewide over a million homes are above underground mines, but only 58,000 subsidence insurance policies have been written.

USGS Image

Earth fissures are caused by differing subsidence rates and magnitudes associated with groundwater pumping in alluvial basins. In this article, Ravi Murthy and Jon Benoist, both with the Arizona Department of Water Resources, examine the impact that earth fissuring has on embankment dams used for flood control. Submitted by Randy Post.

An abandoned mine collapsed right across the street from the K-12 school campus in Galena, Kansas. Fortunately the sinkhole developed in a vacant lot and there were no injuries. Galena has a long history of subsidence problems. On the same day the city was awarded $250,000 to asses the subsidence problems.

London Landsat Image

The UK Environment Agency recently led a study investigating land and sea level changes across London and the Thames Estuary. The study - based on tide gauge, GPS, gravity, and satellite measurements - shows a general pattern of subsidence of 1-2mm a year across London. The information is critical to the planning of London’s sea defences in the face of climate-driven ocean rise. The region is home to 1.3 million people and has a property value put at more than £80bn. Submitted by Adam Thomas.

JAXA Image

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency used data acquired by the Advanced Land Observing Satellite “Daichi” (ALOS) satellite from January 16th 2007 and July 19th 2007 to map patterns of subsidence and uplift that are most likely caused by the recent 2007 Niigata-ken Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake.

London Landsat Image

London, a home to over one million people, has large areas which are only slightly above sea level. The Environment Agency is conducting studies to determine subsidence rates in the London and Thames Estuary. Subsidence combined with sea level rise are causing significant concern.

Netherlands Satellite Image

About 55 percent of the Netherlands is already below sealevel and global warming promises higher sealevels with every passing year. Their vast system of dikes, seawalls and storm-surge barriers is an expensive protection system to keep out the sea. How will the Dutch cope with rising sealevels and steady subsidence - which together could increase the sealevel problem by up to one centimeter per year.

NPS Image

The Jefferson Memorial was built in the late 1930’s on pilings and caissons that were sunk into fill that is up to 100 feet deep. This fill in the Tidal Basin has been settling for decades. Minor subsidence damage was repaired in the past at the seawall and roads along the edge of the park. New subsidence in these areas needs prompt attention again.

Damage from earthquakes, floods, subsidence, landslides, expansive soils, and other geologic processes are not covered by the typical homeowners insurance policy. Thousands of people across the United States are learning very expensive geology lessons every year. This makes a strong case for geoscience education, easy access to professional opinion, and maybe some changes in the way that insurance is sold.

Energy.gov Image

Longwall mining involves the complete removal of a coal seam with the expectation of subsidence. This mining method is commonly done in the Pittsburgh Coal seam beneath large portions of western Pennsylvania. There, longwall mining in Consol’s Bailey Mine, which is about 1000 feet below Ryerson Station State Park is blamed for a crack in the Duke Lake dam. This crack led to draining of the dam out of safety concerns. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation has filed a “notice of intent to sue” against Consol.

India

Predicted sea level increases will cause serious problems for the city of Mumbai, India. Low-lying areas, poor drainage, subsidence and important transportation and other facilities in flood-prone parts of the city are some of the special concerns for this financial capital. The city is particularly vulnerable to storm surge and other events that could produce high water levels.