Origin of ground fissures in the Shanxi Graben System, Northern China

Since the 1950s, hundreds of ground fissures have occurred in the Shanxi Graben System in Northern China. The fissures and related subsidence and differential settlement have caused and are causing substantial damage to homes, agricultural land, roads, canals, and other infrastructure. Although generally similar in appearance, the fissures have different origins. (1) Some fissures coincide with northeast-trending faults. Trenching shows that the fissures extend into the near-surface faults, increasing vertical offset clay beds and other stratigraphic markers at depth, and therefore are probably the surface expression of fault movements. (2) Some fissures are demonstrably related to accelerated groundwater withdrawal. This is particularly apparent in Xi'an City where groundwater levels have declined by about 15 m within 4 years. (3) Other fissures owe their origin to the well-known process of ‘soil collapse’. This is particularly common in the silty loessial sediments that occur within most of the valleys that comprise the Shanxi Graben System.