Numerical models in land subsidence control

One consequence of growing concern over subsurface fluid pumping is the irreversible soil compaction and the related land subsidence. The mechanism of subsidence is an interaction between the stress field and the flow field operating within a deforming and permeable system. The use of high-speed digital computers appears quite promising in its ability to handle large geological systems and to predict the impact on the environment of an intensive exploitation of the underground resources. The models described in this paper can predict land sinking due to fluid withdrawals in natural two or three-dimensional basins and reservoirs. They can be applied at both the reconnaissance and intermediate stage to assess the convenience of alternative pumping schedules in relation to the permanent modifications that land subsidence produces in the environment. © 1975.