GPS-measured land subsidence in Ojiya City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Land subsidence caused by compression of clay layers in Ojiya City, Japan was measured by global positioning system (GPS) between 1 April 1996 and 31 December 1998.

Three baselines were selected in and around the city, and height difference on a WGS-84 ellipsoid was measured by GPS on each baseline. The ground at the GPS station in the city subsides and rebounds 7 cm every winter and spring, respectively. Measurement accuracy was 9.5 mm standard deviation. Ground water level was observed at a well near the GPS station. Regression analysis between total strain, calculated as ratio of the height difference displacement to the total thickness of the clay layers, and the layers' effective stress change with ground water level change gave good correlation. The slope of regression line 7.0×10⁻¹¹ m²/N was obtained as an average apparent coefficient of volume compressibility of the layers.     

Land subsidence caused by groundwater exploitation in Suzhou City,China

Suzhou City, located at the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in southeastern Jiangsu Province, is one of the few cities in China which suffer from severe ground settlement. A research project was carried out to investigate this problem. Geological and hydrogeological studies show that there is a multi-layered aquifer system with three distinct, soft mud layers of marine and lagoonal origins. An examination of historical records of groundwater extraction, water levels, and ground settlement shows that the ground subsidence is associated with the continuously increasing groundwater extraction in the deep, confined aquifer. It is believed that the consolidation of the soft mud layers, especially the third layer which is thick and close to the main pumped aquifer, contributes to the ground settlement. A three-dimensional finite difference numerical model representing the multi-layered aquifer system was developed to study the ground settlement in response to groundwater extraction. By calibrating the model with both the measured groundwater level and ground settlement, the aquifer parameters were estimated. The model outputs fit reasonably well with the observed results, which indicates that the numerical model can reproduce the dynamic processes of both groundwater flow and soil consolidation. The hydraulic conductivity of the third mud layer near the center of the ground settlement has been reduced by over 30% in the last 14 years. The gradual deterioration in the hydraulic conductivity of the mud may have significant adverse effect on the sustainable groundwater resource of the deep confined aquifer, since the recharge from the shallow aquifers through the mud layer is the only source of water to the deep aquifer. An analysis of the spatial distributions of groundwater drawdown and ground settlement shows that the area with maximum drawdown is not necessarily the area with maximum ground settlement due to the occurrence of the soft mud layer. A simple reallocation in pumping rates on the basis of the spatial distribution of the thick mud layer could significantly reduce the ground settlement. Electronic Publication     

Architecture of coastal and alluvial deposits in an extensional basin: the Carboniferous Joggins Formation of eastern Canada

Abstract The Joggins Formation was deposited in the Cumberland Basin, which experienced rapid mid‐Carboniferous subsidence on bounding faults. A 600 m measured section of coastal and alluvial plain strata comprises cycles tens to hundreds of metres thick. The cycles commence with coal and fossiliferous limestone/siltstone intervals, interpreted as widespread flooding events. These intervals are overlain by coarsening‐upward successions capped by planar‐based sandstone mounds, up to 100 m in width that represent the progradation of small, river‐generated delta lobes into a standing body of open water developed during transgression. The overlying strata contain sand‐rich heterolithic packages, 1–8 m thick, that are associated with channel bodies 2–3 m thick and 10–50 m wide. Drifted plant debris, Calamites groves and erect lycopsid trees are preserved within these predominantly green‐grey heterolithic sediments, which were deposited on a coastal wetland or deltaic plain traversed by channel systems. The cycles conclude with red siltstones, containing calcareous nodules, that are interbedded with thin sandstones and associated with both single‐storey channel bodies (1–1·5 m thick and 2–3 m wide) and larger, multistorey channels (3–6 m thick) with incised margins. Numerous channel bodies at the same level suggest that multiple‐channel, anastomosed river systems were developed on a well‐drained floodplain. Many minor flooding surfaces divide the strata into parasequences with dominantly progradational and aggradational stacking patterns. Multistorey channel bodies are relatively thin, fine grained and modestly incised, and palaeosols are immature and cumulative. The abundance and prominence of flooding surfaces suggests that base‐level rise was enhanced, whereas the lack of evidence for abrupt basinward stepping of facies belts, coupled with the absence of strong fluvial incision and mature palaeosols, suggests that base‐level fall was suppressed. These architectural features are considered to reflect a tectonic architectural signature, in accordance with the high‐subsidence basinal setting. Evidence for restricted marine influence and variation in floral assemblages suggests modulation by eustatic and climatic effects, although their relative importance is uncertain.     

集对分析及其在城市地面沉降研究中的应用

集对分析是处理本确定性问题的理论,认为在一系统中不确定性与确定性互相联系、影响、制约,并在一定条件下互相转化,用联系度及其数学表达式统一描述系统的各种不确定性,由此实现系统调控的辅助决策。本文应用集对分析理论与方法剖析了上海地面沉降问题,探讨了社会需求、资源状况、地质环境三者间的制约关系,并以此提出城市地面沉降系统调控的对策与途径。     

Lithospheric Stretching,Subsidence and Thermal History Modeling: Application to Yinggehai,Qiongdongnan and Songliao Basins in East China

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The effects of the spinel—garnet phase transition on the formation of rifted sedimentary basins

We have examined the effects of the spinel-garnet phase transition on subsidence of extensional sedimentary basins. For a constant positive Clapeyron slope ( dP/dT ), the phase boundary moves downwards in the syn-rift and upwards in the post-rift phase. For a non-linear Clapeyron curve ( dP/dT > 0 above 900°C and dP/dT < 0 below 900°C), theory predicts for the reaction of the spinel-garnet phase transition, the direction of phase boundary movement is dependent on the stretching factor, the position of the Clapeyron curve and the lithospheric thickness. A smaller syn-rift and larger post-rift subsidence are predicted for a deeper phase boundary and a thicker lithosphere. The model with a non-linear Clapeyron curve is applied to the subsidence histories of a young extensional basin (Gulf of Lion) and an old continental margin (eastern Canada). The observed syn-rift uplift and the larger post-rift subsidence can be reasonably explained by this model, where the optimum depth of the phase boundary for eastern Canada (˜90 km) is consistent with the estimate from seismic observations and is larger than that for the Gulf of Lion (˜ 50 km). The depth of the spinel-garnet phase boundary is sensitive to the composition of mantle rocks and increases with the extraction of basaltic components from the lithosphere, compatible with our result that the phase boundary is deeper for an older and thicker lithosphere. Thus the surface movement associated with the rifting for these areas may reflect the chemical evolution of the continental lithosphere.     

鄂尔多斯西南缘前陆盆地沉降和沉积过程模拟

本文将东祁东逆冲带与鄂尔多斯西南缘晚三叠世前陆盆地相结合，研究了逆冲带内部变形特征，前陆盆地中层序地层格架特征及其反映的盆缘构造性质和幕式逆作作用。     

The Uplift of the Longmenshan Thrust Belt and Subsidence of the West Sichuan Foreland Basin

Based on fission track dating of apatite, and measurement of vitrinite reflectance of rock samples from the Longmenshan (Longmen Mountain)area and the West Sichuan foreland basin and computer modelling it is concluded that (l)the Songpan-Garze fold belt has uplifted at least by 3-4 km with an uplift rate of no less than 0.3-0.4 mm/a since 10 Ma B.P.; (2) the Longmenshan thrust nappe belt has uplifted at least by 5-6 km with an uplift rate of more than 0.5- 0.6 mm /a since 10 Ma B.P.; (3) the Longmenshan detachment belt has uplifted by 1 - 2 km at a rate of 0.016-0.032 mm/a since 60 Ma B.P.; (4) the West Sichuan foreland basin has uplifted by 1.7-3 km at a rate of 0.028-0.05 mm/a since 60 Ma B.P.; (5) the uplift rate of the area on the west side of the Beichuan-Yingxiu-Xiaoguanzi fault for the last 10 Ma is 40 times as much as that on its east side; (6) the uplifting of the the Songpan - Garze fold belt and the subsidence of the West Sichuan foreland basin 60 Ma ago exhibit a mirro-image correlation, i.e     

Geotechnical Hazards Associated with Desert Environment

The aridity of the Arabian Peninsula's deserts ranges between arid to hyperarid with hot dry climate, scarce precipitation and sparse vegetation. These harsh environmental conditions enhance some geomorphologic processes more than others, cause specific geotechnical problems, and increase desertification.From west to east, the general physiography of Saudi Arabia shows the Red Sea coastal plains and the escarpment foothills called Tihama followed by the Arabian Shield mountains, the Arabian Shelf plateau and finally the Arabian Gulf coastal plains. Sand moves by wind either as drifting sand or migrating dunes in four major sand seas, over the Arabian Shelf, and in the inter-mountain valleys, in the Arabian Shield causing problems of erosion and deposition. Human activities in the deserts may cause more instability to the sand bodies, enlarging the magnitude of the problem. Fine silty soil particles also move by wind, depositing loess mainly in selected areas downwind in the Tihama. These loess deposits subside and may form earth fissures by the process of hydrocompaction upon wetting. The addition of water can be either natural through storms or man-made through human agricultural or civil activities. Extensive sabkhas exist along the coastal plains of both the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. The sabkha soil may also heave by salt re-crystallization or collapse by wetting. The shallow groundwater brines present in sabkhas also attack and corrode civil structures. Urbanization and excessive groundwater pumping may also deplete the fresh groundwater resources and may cause subsidence, ground fissuring and surface faulting as observed in some locations in the Arabian Shield. Although the average annual precipitation is very low, rain usually falls in the form of torrential storms, collected by dry valley basins and causing floods to unprotected downstream areas on the coastal plains of the Red Sea.The desert environment, being a fragile echo system, needs to be treated with care. Intercommunications between different national and international agencies and education of the layman should help to keep the system balanced and reduce the resulting environmental hazards. In addition, any suggested remedial measures should be planned with nature and engineered with natural materials.     

Causes of Land Subsidence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The occurrence of land subsidence in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia is either natural or man-made. Natural land subsidence occurs due to the development of subterranean voids by a solution of host rocks in carbonate and evaporite terrains, over many areas of Saudi Arabia. Man-induced land subsidence is either due to the removal of groundwater in the agricultural areas or to wetting of unstable soils. Therefore, earth fissures and a lowering of the ground surface in unconsolidated sediments took place in alluvial plains and volcanic vent terrains. Unstable soils include Sabkha soils and loess sediments. These types of soils occur in coastal plains, desert areas and volcanic terrains. When this soil is wetted either during agricultural activities, waste disposal or even during a rain storm, subsidence takes place due to either the removal of salts from the Sabkha soil or the rearrangement of soil particles in loess sediments.