Development and Application of a 1D Compaction Model to Understand 65 Years of Subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley

High rates of land subsidence, caused by groundwater overdraft, are resulting in millions dollars infrastructure damage California's San Joaquin Valley (SJV). In recent years, the use interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has enabled us to substantially improve our understanding this subsidence. However, only very occasionally have InSAR data been integrated with a physical model subsurface compaction. Here, we used and other parameterize calibrate 1D compaction model. We applied study area SJV where had access necessary information on hydraulic head develop inputs. Our simulated subsidence three aquifer system layers over period 1952–2017, is first simulate multiple from 1950s 2017. The results suggest that previous studies significantly underestimated time constants governing slow, residual clays. clays process continues for decades-to-centuries, indicating reduce requires some recovery head, not just stabilization. also show how lower, confined accounted 90% past 20 years. Although small, findings likely representative subsiding regions SJV, methodology can be unconsolidated systems exhibiting worldwide.