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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
Houston Geological Society Bulletin
Abstract
Abstract: Land-Surface Subsidence in the Houston-Galveston
Region, Texas
By
Robert
K. Gabrysch
United States Geological Survey
In the Houston-Galveston region of
Texas, the principal cause of land-surface
subsidence is the lowering of pressure heads
due to the removal of water and oil from
subsurface strata. This paper emphasizes
the effects of removal of water. The region is underlain by a thick
section of unconsolidated lenticular deposits
of sand and clay. Clays separating beds of
sand retard the vertical movement of water,
thus creating artesian conditions within the
aquifers. Reduction of pressure caused by
withdrawal of water causes additional load
to be transferred to the skeleton of the
aquifer, thus causing compaction. Subsidence of as much as 5 feet has
occurred in the Houston-Galveston region
between 1943 and 1964, and as much as 200 feet of water level decline has occurred during the same period. The rate of
subsidence increased from about 0.2 foot per year during the 1954-59 period to about 0.24 foot
per year during the 1959-64 period. The decline in water levels increased from about
4 feet per year to about 7 feet per year in those same two periods. End_of_Record - Last_Page 1---------------