Land Subsidence Monitoring Report

Land Subsidence Monitoring Report
Author: Brian D. Conway
Publisher:
Total Pages: 29
Release: 2013
Genre: Groundwater
ISBN:

"In 1997, the Arizona Department of Water Resources created a land subsidence monitoring program. The program initially focused on monitoring land subsidence in the east valley of the Phoenix Metropolitan area using survey-grade GPS equipment. In 2002, ADWR was awarded a 3-year $1.3 million NASA grant to expand the land subsidence monitoring program to include Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar data (InSAR). Upon completion of the NASA grant in 2005, ADWR quickly migrated to a land subsidence program that primarily utilized InSAR data using GPS surveying to support the program. With the InSAR data, ADWR has identified more than 25 land subsidence features in Arizona, collectively covering more than 2,800 square miles of the state.... In addition, the program now cooperates with 12 entities whose financial assistance allows the Department to fund the InSAR data collection. ADWR provides land subsidence maps for download from ADWR's website. As of May 2013, 163 land subsidence maps are available for download and are used on a daily basis by geologists, hydrologists, engineers, planners, surveyors, floodplain managers, GIS analysts, and water resources managers"--Page 4.

Investigation of land subsidence and earth fissures in Cedar Valley, Iron County, Utah

Investigation of land subsidence and earth fissures in Cedar Valley, Iron County, Utah
Author: Paul Inkenbrandt
Publisher: Utah Geological Survey
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2014-03-12
Genre: Base flow (Hydrology).
ISBN: 1557918910

This 116-page report presents the results of an investigation by the Utah Geological Survey of land subsidence and earth fissures in Cedar Valley, Iron County, Utah. Basin-fill sediments of the Cedar Valley Aquifer contain a high percentage of fine-grained material susceptible to compaction upon dewatering. Groundwater discharge in excess of recharge (groundwater mining) has lowered the potentiometric surface in Cedar Valley as much as 114 feet since 1939. Groundwater mining has caused permanent compaction of fine-grained sediments of the Cedar Valley aquifer, which has caused the land surface to subside, and a minimum of 8.3 miles of earth fissures to form. Recently acquired interferometric synthetic aperture radar imagery shows that land subsidence has affected approximately 100 miĀ² in Cedar Valley, but a lack of accurate historical benchmark elevation data over much of the valley prevents its detailed quantification. Continued groundwater mining and resultant subsidence will likely cause existing fissures to lengthen and new fissures to form which may eventually impact developed areas in Cedar Valley. This report also includes possible aquifer management options to help mitigate subsidence and fissure formation, and recommended guidelines for conducting subsidence-related hazard investigations prior to development.