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The state of land subsidence and prediction approaches due to groundwater withdrawal in China

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Abstract

This article gives a general introduction to land subsidence with the prediction approaches due to withdrawal of groundwater in three subsided/subsiding regions in China: the deltaic plain of Yangtse River (YRDP), North China Plain (NCP), and Fenwei Plain (FP). On YRDP, Shanghai is the typical subsided/subsiding city; on NCP Tianjin is the typical subsided/subsiding city, and on FP Taiyuan is the typical subsided/subsiding city. The subsided area with subsidence over 200 mm on YRDP is about 10,000 km2 and the maximum subsided value reached 2.9 m at Shanghai; on NCP the subsided area reached 60,000 km2 with the maximum subsidence of 3.9 m at Tianjing; on FP the subsided area is relatively smaller than that on the other two plains and is about 1,135 km2 with maximum subsidence of 3.7 m at Taiyuan city. In order to protect the civil and industrial facilities, it is necessary to predict the future development of land subsidence based on present state. Many researchers proposed several approaches to predict the land subsidence due to groundwater withdrawal according to different geological conditions and groundwater withdrawal practice. This article classifies these approaches into five categories: (i) statistical methods; (ii) 1D numerical method; (iii) quasi-3D seepage model; (iv) 3D seepage model; (v) fully coupled 3D model. In China, the former four categories are presently employed in the prediction practice and their merits and demerits are discussed. According to the prediction practice, 3D seepage model is the best method presently.

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Acknowledgement

This work is financially supported by the Open Research Foundation of Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI) (Contract No. YK90505).

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Correspondence to Shui-Long Shen.

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Xu, YS., Shen, SL., Cai, ZY. et al. The state of land subsidence and prediction approaches due to groundwater withdrawal in China. Nat Hazards 45, 123–135 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-007-9168-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-007-9168-4

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