Land subsidence and declining water resources in Quetta Valley, Pakistan

Khan, Abdul Salam; Khan, Shuhab D.; Kakar, Din Muhammad

doi:10.1007/s12665-013-2328-9

Cited by 61 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…We could not resolve the north-south strike-slip Chaman Fault movement because of the Line of Sight (LOS) direction is perpendicular to the strike-slip movement direction. (2) The GPS observations from the stations deployed in the Quetta Valley during [2006][2007][2008][2009][2010][2011][2012][2013][2014][2015][2016] indicate that the observed deformation is predominantly vertical movement (subsidence) [3,22].…”

Section: One-dimensional Differential Compaction Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Profile CC' shows zone A with 1.4 mm/year uplift, zone B with 0.5 mm/year subsidence (that could be noise), zone C with 5.5 mm/year subsidence, and zone D with 1.8 mm/year uplift ( Figure 6A). [3,22]. The subsidence signal in the Quetta Valley was also recorded by GPS station recordings from 2006-2016, with an average subsidence rate of 7.7 mm/year.…”

Section: Sbas Surface Displacement In the Quetta Valleymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several earlier studies suggested that the excessive use of groundwater has caused subsidence in the valley [2,3]. The Quetta Valley is also located in an active tectonic region, along the boundary of the western Indian Plate.…”

Section: Anthropogenic-versus Tectonic-induced Subsidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A groundwater-level decline of about 1 m/year was observed in the Quetta Valley by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in 1989 and has been suggested as a driver of subsidence in this region [2,3]. Four ground fissures appeared in February 2011 near the Quetta Valley that are oriented at~25 • and -25 • to the north, with a~6 m depth and~2 m maximum width.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Study of Subsidence and Earthquake Swarms in the Western Pakistan

et al. 2016

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In recent years, the Quetta Valley and surrounding areas have experienced unprecedented levels of subsidence, which has been attributed mainly to groundwater withdrawal. However, this region is also tectonically active and is home to several regional strike-slip faults, including the north–south striking left-lateral Chaman Fault System. Several large earthquakes have occurred recently in this area, including one deadly Mw 6.4 earthquake that struck on 28 October 2008. This study integrated Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) results with GPS, gravity, seismic reflection profiles, and earthquake centroid-moment-tensor (CMT) data to identify the impact of tectonic and anthropogenic processes on subsidence and earthquake patterns in this region. To detect and map the spatial-temporal features of the processes that led to the surface deformation, this study used two Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) time series, i.e., 15 Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) images acquired by an Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) from 2006–2011 and 40 Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) images spanning 2003–2010. A Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) technique was used to investigate surface deformation. Five seismic lines totaling ~60 km, acquired in 2003, were used to map the blind thrust faults beneath a Quaternary alluvium layer. The median filtered SBAS-InSAR average velocity profile supports groundwater withdrawal as the dominant source of subsidence, with some contribution from tectonic subsidence in the Quetta Valley. Results of SBAS-InSAR multi-temporal analysis provide a better explanation for the pre-, co-, and post-seismic displacement pattern caused by the 2008 earthquake swarms across two strike-slip faults.

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Section: One-dimensional Differential Compaction Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sbas Surface Displacement In the Quetta Valleymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Anthropogenic-versus Tectonic-induced Subsidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Study of Subsidence and Earthquake Swarms in the Western Pakistan

et al. 2016

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“…Land subsidence due to groundwater pumping has induced various problems including unequal settlement, wall cracking, pipeline damage and ground fissures in many cities around the world (Khan et al 2013;Abidin et al 2013). Groundwater pumping induces the fully coupled hydraulic-mechanical interaction between water flow and solid matrix in nature in many cases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation of fully coupled finite element analysis of nonlinear hydraulic properties in land subsidence due to groundwater pumping

et al. 2015

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A fully coupled mathematical model of land subsidence caused by groundwater pumping was established based on the mechanics of porous seepage and the theory of fluid-solid interaction. The mathematical model employing the Galerkin finite element method was proposed to simulate the deformation dependencies of hydraulic properties due to the water pressure decrease in aquifers. This model has been verified by comparing with the known analytical solutions in the confined aquifer. Results show that the simulated drawdown and displacements match well with those of analytical solutions. To evaluate the nonlinear effects of hydraulic properties in the seepage and consolidation coupling phenomena, the numerical model is applied to an ideal three layers numerical experiment. The results show that the subsidence rate is faster than conventional groundwater theory when the nonlinear hydraulic properties (NHP) are considered in the coupled model. The reason is that the water level decline due to groundwater withdrawal induces the soil compression and the porosity and permeability decrease. Decrease of permeability in regions adjacent to the pumping well produces hydraulic gradient and seepage forces that may result in accelerated subsidence. Therefore, the effect of the NHP is an interaction process of pore water pressure and soil consolidation deformation and should not be ignored. Further studies of various hydrogeology problems are recommended to consider the heterogeneity concerning different stratigraphic condition in the field.

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A Novel Approach to Model Earth Fissure Caused by Extensive Aquifer Exploitation and its Application to the Wuxi Case, China

Franceschini

Zhang

et al. 2018

Water Resources Research

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Initially observed in the semiarid basins of southwestern USA, earth fissures due to aquifer over‐exploitation are presently threatening a large number of subsiding basins in various countries worldwide. Different mechanics have been proposed to explain this process, such as differential compaction, horizontal movements, and fault reactivation. Numerical modeling and prediction of this major geohazard caused by overuse of groundwater resources are challenging because of two main requirements: shifting from the classical continuous to discontinuous geomechanics and incorporating two‐dimensional features (the earth fissures) into large three‐dimensional (3‐D) modeling domain (the subsiding basin). In this work, we proposed a novel modeling approach to simulate earth fissure generation and propagation in 3‐D complex geological settings. A nested two‐scale approach associated with an original nonlinear elastoplastic finite element/interface element simulator allows modeling the mechanics of earth discontinuities, in terms of both sliding and opening. The model is applied on a case study in Wuxi, China, where groundwater pumping between 1985 and 2004 has caused land subsidence larger than 2 m. The model outcomes highlight that the presence of a shallow (∼80 m deep) bedrock ridge crossing the Yangtze River delta is the key factor triggering the earth fissure development in this area. Bending of the alluvial deposits around the ridge tip and shear stress due to the uneven piezometric change and asymmetrical shape of the bedrock have caused the earth fissure to onset at the land surface and propagate downward to a maximum depth of about 20–30 m. Maximum sliding and opening are computed in the range of 10–40 cm, in agreement with the order of magnitude estimated in the field.

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Land subsidence and declining water resources in Quetta Valley, Pakistan

Cited by 61 publications

References 7 publications

Study of Subsidence and Earthquake Swarms in the Western Pakistan

Study of Subsidence and Earthquake Swarms in the Western Pakistan

Simulation of fully coupled finite element analysis of nonlinear hydraulic properties in land subsidence due to groundwater pumping

A Novel Approach to Model Earth Fissure Caused by Extensive Aquifer Exploitation and its Application to the Wuxi Case, China

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