COMMENTARY

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Geomechanics of subsurface water withdrawal and injection

Land subsidence and uplift, ground ruptures, and induced seismicity are the principal geomechanic effects of groundwater withdrawal and injection. The major environmental consequence of groundwater pumping is anthropogenic land subsidence. The first observation concerning land settlement linked to subsurface processes was made in 1926 by the American geologists Pratt and Johnson, who wrote that \u2018\u2018the cause of subsidence is to be found in the extensive extraction of fluid from beneath the affected area.\u2019\u2019 Since then, impressive progress has been made in terms of: (a) recognizing the basic hydrologic and geomechanic principles underlying the occurrence; (b) measuring aquifer compaction and ground displacements, both vertical and horizontal; (c) modeling and predicting the past and future event; and (d) mitigating environmental impact through aquifer recharge and/or surface water injection. The first milestone in the theory of pumped aquifer consolidation was reached in 1923 by Terzaghi, who introduced the principle of \u2018\u2018effective intergranular stress.\u2019\u2019 In the early 1970s, the emerging computer technology facilitated development of the first mathematical model of the subsidence of Venice, made by Gambolati and Freeze. Since then, the comprehension, measuring, and simulation of the occurrence have improved dramatically. More challenging today are the issues of ground ruptures and induced/triggered seismicity, which call for a shift from the classical continuum approach to discontinuous mechanics. Although well known for decades, anthropogenic land subsidence is still threatening large urban centers and deltaic areas worldwide, such as Bangkok, Jakarta, and Mexico City, at rates in the order of 10 cm/yr

Advances in Surface-Groundwater Modelling in Lagoon Environment with Airborne Electromagnetics and High Resolution Seismic: Example from the Venice Lagoon

Lagoon environments are very important for groundwater modeling in costal areas, they are delicate and in rapid evolution due to global climatic changes. Airborne electromagnetics (AEM)is a very valuable methodology that can provide high density, high quality data to produce 3D hydrogeological models to depths in excess of hundred meters below surface water column. We present the results from the SkyTEM Venice lagoon survey of 2009, integrated with data from very high resolution seismic survey. The AEM data results enhance greatly the understanding of the hydrogeology and surface-groundwater interactions in the lagoon area, where indirect measurements abound but wells are missing. For example, there is clear evidence of fresh water aquifers underneath the central part of the lagoon, at depth of about 40 m. The near surface part of the AEM data compare well with seismic data, showing that main reflectors come from the interface between the superficial Late Pleistocene looser, saline water saturated sediments and the deeper, more compact and fresher Holocene sediments. There is also clear evidence of submarine groundwater discharge in the lagoon, of paleorivers, and a possible indication of gas seepage trough shallow sediments. Seismic and AEM provide complimentary datasets to discriminate between pore water salinity, lithology and gas. Seismic horizons can actually be included during inversion of AEM data, producing more robust output. AEM data from the southern part of the survey that crosses the shore line and continued also onshore allow a clear mapping of the saline water intrusion inland, and highlight the relationship between pore water salinity of the lagoon sediments and spatial distribution of salt marshes. The latter seem to act like salt sinks, increasing sediments electrical conductivity

LAND SUBSIDENCE MONITORING TECHNIQUES A NEW STRATEGY ADOPTED IN THE VENETIAN AREA, ITALY

Among recent research topics dealing with land subsidence in the Venice region, great attention has been given to monitoring techniques. Recently, SAR-based analyses have been used to complement the ground-based methods, and an integrated monitoring system based on levelling, GPS, and InSAR techniques (SIMS), able to optimize the areally distributed information and to provided synoptic maps of ground surface displacements with high accuracy and reliability for both small areas and al regional scale was developed

The role of sedimentation and natural compaction in a prograding delta: insights from the mega Mekong delta, Vietnam

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta was formed by rapid transgression during the second half of the Holocene by deposition of mainly unconsolidated, fine-grained (clayey) sediments undergoing high compaction rates. The natural subsidence can seriously impact the already vulnerable delta plain as its low elevation exposes the delta to global sea level rise, flooding, salinization. Human activities such as groundwater pumping, infrastructural loading, sand mining and dam construction have exacerbated the effects of natural consolidation. Here we present a novel modeling study that has allowed to reproduce the formation and evolution of the Mekong delta over the past 4000 years. Using an adaptive finite-element mesh, the model properly simulates accretion and natural consolidation characterizing the delta evolution. Large soil grain motion and the delayed dissipation of pore-water overpressure are accounted for. We find that natural compaction of Holocene deposits following delta evolution exceeds predicted values of absolute sea level rise. The unprecedented high rates (up to ~20 mm/yr) threaten the lower delta plain with permanent inundation and inevitably reduce the designed service life of flood defense structures along the coast. Total subsidence and sediment delivery to the delta plain will determine its future elevation and vulnerability to relative sea level rise

Computing the relative land subsidence at Venice, Italy, over the last fifty years

Abstract: Land subsidence causes various damages to the infrastructures and cultural heritage in many cities worldwide. Urban flooding is one of the main consequences of land subsidence in coastal cities, where it is exacerbated by sea-level rise accompanying global climate change, but also in inland metropolitan areas such as Mexico City, where subsidence zones are increasingly flooded following intense rainstorms. The subsidence of Venice, one of the most beautiful and famous cities in the world, is well known not for the magnitude of subsidence but because subsidence has seriously compromised the heritage and the safety of the city in relation to its small elevation above the sea. The storm that flooded the historical center of Venice on November 4, 1966 dramatically revealed its fragility with respect to land subsidence and sea-level rise, or the Relative Land Subsidence (RLS), i.e. land movement with respect to sea-level changes. That event signaled the beginning of a systematic monitoring of the loss in elevation of the ground surface of Venice with respect to the mean level of the Northern Adriatic (NA) Sea. Tide gauge measurements, available from the beginning of the last century, have been supplied historically by levelling and more recently by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)-based Interferometry. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1966 flood event, we quantify the RLS experienced by the city over these last five decades with a detail never achieved before. The computation of the loss of elevation has been obtained by processing and superposing the results of levelling surveys carried out in 1961, 1969, 1973, and 1993, together with the results of Interferometric processing of SAR images acquired from satellites: 1993 to 2002 by ERS-1/2, 2003 and 2010 by ENVISAT, 2008 to 2013 by TerraSAR-X, and 2012 to 2016 by COSMO-SkyMED. The records from the tide gauge in Trieste, which is a city on the coast of the NA Sea close to the Alps and known to be stable, are used to evaluate the sea-level rise over the targeted time interval. The mean land velocity (v) for each analyzed period has been obtained by interpolating the original measurements using the Kriging method on a same regular 50-m grid covering the entire city. Then, cumulative land subsidence (LStot)) from 1966 to 2016 has been simulated in a GIS environment by summing the partial land subsidence over the various periods covered by the levelling and SAR surveys. The results point out that in the Venice historical center between 1966 and 2016: • Land subsidence rate has been more variable in space but less variable over time than the changes of the NA mean sea level; • average subsidence has amounted to 0.8 mm/yr and the average NA msl rise to 1.9 mm/yr; • minimum and maximum cumulative subsidence has totalled 8 mm and 93 mm, respectively; and • maximum loss of elevation with respect to the NA msl (i.e. RLS) has been 190 mm. RLS has produced a tangible effect on the Venice historical center revealed by the continuous increase in frequency of the flooding events, locally called "acqua alta". In the next years, any further loss of elevation with respect to the mean sea level, even a few mm, will threaten the city’s survival with severe social and environmental impacts. Considering the present average land subsidence of Venice and sea level rise of the NA (i.e. both about 1.2 mm/yr), an additional loss of elevation of about 190 mm will likely occur by 2100. Actually, according to conservative and pessimistic IPCC scenarios, the sea-level accompanying global climate change is expected to rise from 32 to 56 cm. Therefore, the outcomes from this study should be properly taken in account for the planning of effective interventions for the mitigation of climate changes to maintain the historical center of this unique city

Computing the relative land subsidence at Venice, Italy, over the last fifty years

Abstract: Land subsidence causes various damages to the infrastructures and cultural heritage in many cities worldwide. Urban flooding is one of the main consequences of land subsidence in coastal cities, where it is exacerbated by sea-level rise accompanying global climate change, but also in inland metropolitan areas such as Mexico City, where subsidence zones are increasingly flooded following intense rainstorms. The subsidence of Venice, one of the most beautiful and famous cities in the world, is well known not for the magnitude of subsidence but because subsidence has seriously compromised the heritage and the safety of the city in relation to its small elevation above the sea. The storm that flooded the historical center of Venice on November 4, 1966 dramatically revealed its fragility with respect to land subsidence and sea-level rise, or the Relative Land Subsidence (RLS), i.e. land movement with respect to sea-level changes. That event signaled the beginning of a systematic monitoring of the loss in elevation of the ground surface of Venice with respect to the mean level of the Northern Adriatic (NA) Sea. Tide gauge measurements, available from the beginning of the last century, have been supplied historically by levelling and more recently by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)-based Interferometry. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1966 flood event, we quantify the RLS experienced by the city over these last five decades with a detail never achieved before. The computation of the loss of elevation has been obtained by processing and superposing the results of levelling surveys carried out in 1961, 1969, 1973, and 1993, together with the results of Interferometric processing of SAR images acquired from satellites: 1993 to 2002 by ERS-1/2, 2003 and 2010 by ENVISAT, 2008 to 2013 by TerraSAR-X, and 2012 to 2016 by COSMO-SkyMED. The records from the tide gauge in Trieste, which is a city on the coast of the NA Sea close to the Alps and known to be stable, are used to evaluate the sea-level rise over the targeted time interval. The mean land velocity (v) for each analyzed period has been obtained by interpolating the original measurements using the Kriging method on a same regular 50-m grid covering the entire city. Then, cumulative land subsidence (LStot)) from 1966 to 2016 has been simulated in a GIS environment by summing the partial land subsidence over the various periods covered by the levelling and SAR surveys. The results point out that in the Venice historical center between 1966 and 2016: • Land subsidence rate has been more variable in space but less variable over time than the changes of the NA mean sea level; • average subsidence has amounted to 0.8 mm/yr and the average NA msl rise to 1.9 mm/yr; • minimum and maximum cumulative subsidence has totalled 8 mm and 93 mm, respectively; and • maximum loss of elevation with respect to the NA msl (i.e. RLS) has been 190 mm. RLS has produced a tangible effect on the Venice historical center revealed by the continuous increase in frequency of the flooding events, locally called "acqua alta". In the next years, any further loss of elevation with respect to the mean sea level, even a few mm, will threaten the city’s survival with severe social and environmental impacts. Considering the present average land subsidence of Venice and sea level rise of the NA (i.e. both about 1.2 mm/yr), an additional loss of elevation of about 190 mm will likely occur by 2100. Actually, according to conservative and pessimistic IPCC scenarios, the sea-level accompanying global climate change is expected to rise from 32 to 56 cm. Therefore, the outcomes from this study should be properly taken in account for the planning of effective interventions for the mitigation of climate changes to maintain the historical center of this unique city

Land subsidence in coastal environments: Knowledge advance in the Venice coastland by TerraSAR-X PSI

The use of satellite SAR interferometric methods has significantly improved the monitoring of ground movements over the last decades, thus opening new possibilities for a more accurate interpretation of land subsidence and its driving mechanisms. TerraSAR-X has been extensively used to study land subsidence in the Venice Lagoon, Italy, with the aim of quantifying the natural and anthropogenic causes. In this paper, we review and update the main results achieved by three research projects supported by DLR AOs (German Aerospace Center Announcement of Opportunity) and conducted to test the capability of TerraSAR-X PSI (Persistent Scatterer Interferometry) to detect ground movements in the complex physiographic setting of the Venice transitional coastal environment. The investigations have been focused on the historical center of Venice, the lagoon inlets where the MoSE is under construction, salt marshes, and newly built-up areas in the littoral. PSI on stacks of stripmap TerraSAR-X images covering short- to long-time periods (i.e., the years 2008\u20132009, 2008\u20132011 and 2008\u20132013) has proven particularly effective to measure land subsidence in the Venice coastland. The very high spatial resolution (3 m) and the short repeat time interval (11 days) of the TerraSAR-X acquisitions make it possible to investigate ground movements with a detail unavailable in the past. The interferometric products, properly calibrated, allowed for a millimetric vertical accuracy of the land movements at both the regional and local scales, even for short-term analyses, i.e., spanning one year only. The new picture of the land movement resulted from processing TerraSAR-X images has significantly contributed to update the knowledge on the subsidence process at the Venice coast