The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Before and After: Franklin Extensometer
Detailed Description
Before and after imagery of the original Franklin Extensometer. The original Franklin extensometer measured aquifer compaction near the groundwater pumping center at Franklin, Virginia from 1979 to 1995.
Aquifer compaction is caused by groundwater overuse, and this compaction in turn leads to land subsidence. However, a reduction in groundwater use can lead to the aquifer recovering and the land surface regaining some of its lost elevaiton.
At some point between 1995 and 2015, groundwater withdrawals slowed in the Franklin area and the aquifer recovered to such an extent that it caused uplift that bent the steel extensometer rod and tipped the weighted fulcrum arm out of alignment.
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
Related Content
Check out more images of our Franklin Extensometer research site below:
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
USGS Scientists Inspect A Research Site in Franklin, Virginia
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
2015 Franklin Extensometer Aquifer Rebound Damage
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
Franklin Extensometer Historical Photo
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
1940s Monitoring Well in Franklin, Virginia
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Related Content
Check out more images of our Franklin Extensometer research site below:
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
USGS Scientists Inspect A Research Site in Franklin, Virginia
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
2015 Franklin Extensometer Aquifer Rebound Damage
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
Franklin Extensometer Historical Photo
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
1940s Monitoring Well in Franklin, Virginia
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.