Land Subsidence and its contribution to relative sea level rise and flooding risks in South Texas

Free. Online. Water Wednesdays. Jon-Won Choi, Associate Professor presents “Land subsidence and its contribution to relative sea level rise and flooding risks in South Texas”

The recent increases in the frequency and magnitude of severe storms have resulted in the elevated probability of coastal flooding. This is in part caused by the increased water temperature in the ocean that may have induced continued thermal expansion of the sea water and loss of glaciers on land, causing absolute sea level rise (ASLR), rise of sea surface relative to the center of the Earth. Increased water temperature may also change local weather patterns, leading to more extreme events such as flooding and severe drought, exacerbating the regional water resources issues. In turn, limited water resources accompanied by growing energy demand impose the exploitation of aquifer resources and excessive hydrocarbon production (i.e., oil and gas). These development activities have a high potential to cause land subsidence (LS), the downward motion of the ground surface. The combined effects of ASLR and LS result in relative sea level rise (RSLR), i.e., rise of sea level relative to the land at a particular location. RSLR can ultimately lead to increased frequency and severity of compound coastal and watershed. This presentation introduces the mechanisms of land subsidence with an emphasis on subsurface fluid extraction, and reviews recent advances in monitoring and predicting LS worldwide. Case studies from South Texas, including recent research by Haley et al. (2022) and Qiao et al. (2023), will be highlighted. The presentation concludes with current research trends and future directions for developing best management practices that support sustainable groundwater development and mitigate the impacts of land subsidence and relative sea level rise.

Please register here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/40180c5e-dec1-4817-9797-106fa2dc55cb@9fd7580a-6472-4d9c-a142-d131d3a7a116

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