Mapping the global threat of land subsidence
G. Herrera-Garcia, P. Ezquerro, M. Bejar-Pizarro, J. Lopez-Vinielles, R. M. Mateos
Geohazards InSAR Laboratory and Modeling Group, Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana,
Madrid, Spain
R. Tomas
Dpto. de Ingenieria Civil, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
M. Rossi
Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica, Perugia, Italy
D. Carreon-Freyre
Centro de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Queretaro, Mexico
J. Lambert, G. Erkens
Deltares, Utrecht, The Netherlands
P. Teatini
Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering,
University of Padova, Padova, Italy
E. Cabral-Cano
Dpto de Geomagnetismo y Exploration, Istituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,
Mexico City, Mexico
D. Galloway
U.S.Geological Survey, Solsberry, IN, USA
W.-C. Hung
Dept. of Civil Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
N. Kakar
Department of Geology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan
M. Sneed
U.S.Geological Survey, Sacramento, CA, USA
L. Tosi
Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources - National Research Council, Padova, Italy
H. Wang
Shanghai Institute of Geological Survey, Shanghai, China
S. Ye
Department of Hydrosciences, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University,
Nanjing, China
Subsidence, the lowering of Earth's land surface, is a potentially destructive hazard that
can be caused by a wide range of natural or anthropogenic triggers but mainly results from
solid or fluid mobilization underground. Subsidence due to groundwater depletion (1) is a
slow and gradual process that develops on large time scales (months to years), producing
progressive loss of land elevation (centimeters to decimeters per year) typically over very
large areas (tens to thousands of square kilometers) and variably affects urban and agricultural
areas worldwide. Subsidence permanently reduces aquifer-system storage capacity, causes earth
fissures, damages buildings and civil infrastructure, and increases flood susceptibility and risk.
During the next decades, global population and economic growth will continue to increase
groundwater demand and accompanying groundwater depletion (2) and, when exacerbated by droughts
(3), will probably increase land subsidence occurrence and related damages or impacts. To raise
awareness and inform decision-making, we evaluate potential global subsidence due to groundwater
depletion, a key first step toward formulating effective land-subsidence policies that are
lacking in most countries worldwide.
