California Sinking Faster Than Thought
California is sinking even faster than scientists had thought, new NASA satellite imagery shows.
Some areas of the Golden State are sinking more than 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) per month, the imagery reveals. Though the sinking, called subsidence, has long been a problem in California, the rate is accelerating because the state's extreme drought is fueling voracious groundwater pumping.
"Because of increased pumping, groundwater levels are reaching record lows — up to 100 feet (30 meters) lower than previous records," Mark Cowin, director of California's Department of Water Resources, said in a statement. "As extensive groundwater pumping continues, the land is sinking more rapidly, and this puts nearby infrastructure at greater risk of costly damage." [It's Raining Spiders! The Weirdest Effects of California's Drought]
What's more, this furious groundwater pumping could have long-term consequences. If the land shrinks too much, and for too long, it can permanently lose its ability to store groundwater, the researchers said.
The state's sinking isn't new: California has long suffered from subsidence, and some parts are now a few dozen feet lower than they were in 1925, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
But the state's worst drought on record — 97 percent of the state is facing moderate to exceptional drought — has only accelerated the trend. To quantify this accelerated sinking, researchers at the Department of Water Resources and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, compared satellite imagery of California over time.
Thanks to images taken from both satellites and airplanes using a remote-sensing technique called interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), which uses radar to measure elevation differences, researchers can now map changes in the surface height of the ground with incredible precision. For the current study, the team stitched together imagery from Japan's satellite-based Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar and Canada's Earth Observation satellite Radarsat-2, as well as NASA's airplane-based Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar.
Certain hotspots are shrinking at an astonishing rate — regions of the Tulare Basin, which includes Fresno, sank 13 inches (33 cm) in just eight months, they found. The Sacramento Valley is sinking about 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) per month. And the California Aqueduct — an intricate network of pipes, canals and tunnels that funnels water from high in the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern and central California to Southern California — has sunk 12.5 inches (32 cm), and most of that was just in the past four months, according to the new study.
The unquenchable thirst for groundwater in certain regions is largely a result of agriculture: Most of the state's agricultural production resides in the fast-sinking regions around some of the state's most endangered river systems — the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. As the heat and lack of rainfall have depleted surface-water supplies, farmers have turned to groundwater to keep their crops afloat.
Subsidence isn't just an aesthetic problem; bridges and highways can sink and crack in dangerous ways, and flood-control structures can be compromised. In the San Joaquin Valley, the sinking Earth has destroyed the outer shell around thousands of privately drilled wells.
"Groundwater acts as a savings account to provide supplies during drought, but the NASA report shows the consequences of excessive withdrawals as we head into the fifth year of historic drought," Corwin said. "We will work together with counties, local water districts, and affected communities to identify ways to slow the rate of subsidence and protect vital infrastructure such as canals, pumping stations, bridges and wells."
User Comments:
- First T-20 match without shakib and tamim india loss
- At the age of 85, goodbye to cricket
- Shakib Ranking position change
- Bangladesh ended the first day of the unbeaten century
- Saif Hassan disappointed the chosen in the first roles
- Proteas defeats the Lankan in 2nd ODI
- IDB expresses concern over changes in Islami Bank
- 20 potential ECS names nominated
- Could not believe that Sunny Leone wanted him in 'Laila Main Laila' Shah Rukh Khan
- India beat England in the 1st T20 match
- Look your best on Valentine's Day
- Priyanka said that India will always be identified
- Global banking rules agreement 'once the dust settles in the United States
- May trumpet as host of the first foreign leader
- Do not interfere in the Bangladesh case, Qadir says foreign
- Turkey's ambassador to Dhaka
- 'Ice Age: New trailer collision: the threat of global asteroids
- Bale hits real winner
- Woman found dead in a city hotel
- Withdrawal of unemployed nurses strike
- Tangail filed on Hindu murder case
- Foreign Minister meets King Abdullah Foundation trip in Saudi Arabia, Prince Turkey
- Hasina praised Bangladesh bowling sensation Mustafizur
- Rains in Sylhet, the heat wave plays extra time in the rest of Bangladesh
- BNP chief Khaleda sees more danger than ever before in Bangladesh
- I do not want it, I want to win: Dunga
- Asks the Bangladesh government to take a strong position against killer:Denmark
- My mom is not here to meet Neetu Kapoor, Katrina Kaif clear
- ICC World T20: England Qualify For Final
- Tonu murder sad every part of the army, says ISPR
- ADB Bangladesh sees FY GDP growing at 6.7% in 2015-16
- Court orders arrest of Khaleda's deadly bus firebombing in Dhaka
- Standard Chartered cards stop working due to a down server
- Corruption can progress obstruction of a country: President
- The uncertainty of the cloud cleared, Hero 420, released Friday
- To suggest pollution to protect your skin
- Trouble in Parliament to answer questions on the delay Interior Minister
- Hasina urges teachers to promote sports
- 5D can record human history!
- I'm still a child, says Kareena
- Saudi, Russia agreed oil production freeze
- Twenty20 World Cup announced
- The death of former chief Boutros-ghali UN
- Arrest warrant issued against Daily Star editor
- Per capita income of Bangladesh 2014-15, increasing to $ 1.316 in fiscal year
- Khaleda Zia subcommittees for BNP
- BSMMU Abdul Hannan appointed new Register
- Citizens can update fingerprints for the ceremony at the office
- Executes N Korea army chief
- Twenty20 Women World Cup team announced
- Star Journo concern over the threat to the leader, its editor
- US 'Intel warning of the details of the terrorist group in Bangladesh
- To be tried Padma bridge 'conspirators': Prime Minister
- Road crashes: High Court order on all hospital emergency service
- muslin and fund research: analyst
- Chief Justice appeal eats division into three judges
- Keraniganj prime murder suspect killed in shootout school Abdullah: RAB
- Bangladesh lost a High Court for staff accommodation
- ICT sentence Taher, Noni Netrokona death
- Ghazipur knife 2 DB
- French minister at the UN sends carbon pricing
- '' Now it Rabby no bar
- Khulna JCD President Kamran held
- Police want Bank Medical College
- Fakhrul went to Singapore for treatment
- Apple warns iPhone sales to fall
- Kristen Stewart speaks up on gender inequality
- China to increase JVs in Bangladesh
- Konta 33-year British drought to break beats Zhang
- India waives visa fees Bangladesh
- Patient's death: 2 CTG doctors get bail
- Specialised police to combat terrorism: PM
- The school forced students to buy additional books
- Romance to change you as a person does
- AL betrayed the spirit of liberation war: khalida
- World Cup 2015: Dhoni's men will be wary of Bangladesh
- An eve teasing incident scarred my life
- Man allegedly kill wife
- 44 years later widows receive justice: sajib wazed joy
- Employee bonuses decline at Cognizant
- Happy loses Lawyer
- Shamsul Hoque Khan School top....... in Dhaka broad
- BNP leader Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pinto dies
- Proteas defeats the Lankan in 2nd ODI
- Dr. Yunus...................Three Zero Theory
- Turkey's ambassador to Dhaka
- 20 potential ECS names nominated
- Mashrafe-Rubel broke the English lineup
- Think different! Try sex in storeroom
- Khaleda Zia subcommittees for BNP
- IDB expresses concern over changes in Islami Bank
- High Court says : Why not second time in DU
- Woman found dead in a city hotel
- Kim Kardashian to strip nude again
- Tangail filed on Hindu murder case
- Refused bail petition of ..... Ruhul Kabir Rizvi
- Could not believe that Sunny Leone wanted him in 'Laila Main Laila' Shah Rukh Khan
- Romance to change you as a person does
- Finance Minister AMA Muhith to place budget for seventh time... Budget
- Look your best on Valentine's Day