National Geodetic Survey vertical control bench mark H1235 RESET in Merced County, California. H 1235 RESET is in the median of State Highway 15. This is one of several bench mark locations used to help measure the largest recent subsidence in the area using repeat surveys.
Justin Brandt
Justin Brandt - California Water Science Center
Science and Products
Water-Level, Water-Quality and Land-Subsidence Studies in the Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater Basins
Continuous Global Positioning System (CGPS) Stations
Land Subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley
Extensometers and Compaction
Mojave Land-Subsidence Studies
Land Subsidence in the Coachella Valley
Delta-Mendota Canal: Evaluation of Groundwater Conditions and Land Subsidence
Land Subsidence Along the California Aqueduct
Subsidence from Aquifer-Storage and Recovery in the East Bay Plain
Land Subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley
California Water Use
California Water Use, 2010
Irrigation water use reanalysis for the 2000-20 period by HUC12, month, and year for the conterminous United States
MODFLOW 6 model and ensemble used in the simulation of groundwater flow and land subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer, 1897-2018 (ver. 2.0, September 2023)
Central Valley Hydrologic Model version 2 (CVHM2): Observation Data (Groundwater Level, Streamflow, Subsidence) from 1916 to 2018 (ver. 2.0, June 2023)
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar-Derived Subsidence Contours for the West-Central San Joaquin Valley, California, 2008-10
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and Groundwater-Level Data, Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, California, 1970-2018
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Data, Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater Basins, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California, 2014-19
Verified Irrigated Agricultural Lands for the United States, 2002-17
2015 calendar-year county-level estimates of actual evapotranspiration for the conterminous United States and Hawaii
Global Positioning System Survey data for 2015, and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Data for 1995-2017, Coachella Valley, Riverside County, California
National Geodetic Survey vertical control bench mark H1235 RESET in Merced County, California. H 1235 RESET is in the median of State Highway 15. This is one of several bench mark locations used to help measure the largest recent subsidence in the area using repeat surveys.
National Geodetic Survey vertical control bench mark W990 CADWR in Merced County, California. W 990 CADWR is on the Mariposa Bypass Bridge on Washington Rd. This is one of several bench mark locations used to help measure the largest recent subsidence in the area using repeat surveys.
National Geodetic Survey vertical control bench mark W990 CADWR in Merced County, California. W 990 CADWR is on the Mariposa Bypass Bridge on Washington Rd. This is one of several bench mark locations used to help measure the largest recent subsidence in the area using repeat surveys.
Hydrogeology, land-surface subsidence, and documentation of the Gulf Coast Land Subsidence and Groundwater-Flow (GULF) model, southeast Texas, 1897–2018
Mapping structural control through analysis of land-surface deformation for the Rialto-Colton groundwater subbasin, San Bernardino County, California, 1992–2010
Detection and measurement of land-surface deformation, Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, California, 2015–18
Documentation of methods and inventory of irrigation information collected for the 2015 U.S. Geological Survey estimated use of water in the United States
Detection and measurement of land subsidence and uplift using Global Positioning System surveys and interferometric synthetic aperture radar, Coachella Valley, California, 2010–17
Mitigating land subsidence in the Coachella Valley, California, USA: An emerging success story
Detection and measurement of land subsidence and uplift using interferometric synthetic aperture radar, San Diego, California, USA, 2016–2018
Evaluation of land subsidence and ground failures at Bicycle Basin, Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, 1992–2017
Land subsidence along the California Aqueduct in west-central San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003–10
Water-resources and land-surface deformation evaluation studies at Fort Irwin National Training Center, Mojave Desert, California
Land subsidence and recovery in the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico, 1993–2014
Land subsidence in the southwestern Mojave Desert, California, 1992–2009
Science and Products
- Science
Water-Level, Water-Quality and Land-Subsidence Studies in the Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater Basins
Groundwater has been the primary source of domestic, agricultural, and municipal water supplies in the southwestern Mojave Desert, California, since the early 1900s. The population of the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins has grown rapidly during the last several decades, increasing from an estimated population of almost 273,000 in 1990 (Mojave Water Agency, 2004) to more than 453,000 in...Continuous Global Positioning System (CGPS) Stations
Measurements of elevations, aquifer-system compaction, and water levels are used to improve our understanding of the processes responsible for land-surface elevation changes. Elevation or elevation-change measurements are fundamental to monitoring land subsidence, and have been measured by using continuous GPS (CGPS) measurements and campaign global positioning system (GPS) surveying.Land Subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley
Throughout the late 1800s and into the 1920s when two thirds of the Santa Clara Valley had been irrigated, water flowed freely from wells. Water-level declines of more than 200 ft occurred in the Santa Clara Valley from the early 1900's to the mid 1960's (Fowler, 1981). Land subsidence was first detected in 1933 (Poland and Ireland, 1988). As the decades passed, groundwater levels continued to...Extensometers and Compaction
Extensometers measure the compaction and expansion of the aquifer system, providing depth-specific data that can help CAWSC scientists better understand the rate, extent, and at what depths in the system subsidence is occurring.Mojave Land-Subsidence Studies
Land subsidence has been ongoing in the dry lake beds throughout the Mojave and Morongo groundwater basins since the 1960s. In a study conducted from 2004 - 2009, continuous GPS stations were added to interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) methods to measure changes in land surface altitude.Land Subsidence in the Coachella Valley
Groundwater is an important water-supply source in the Coachella Valley. The demand for water has exceeded the deliveries of imported surface water, and groundwater levels have been declining as a result of increased pumping. A network of GPS stations has been set up in the valley to monitor subsidence resulting from declining groundwater levels.Delta-Mendota Canal: Evaluation of Groundwater Conditions and Land Subsidence
In areas adjacent to the Delta-Mendota Canal (DMC), extensive groundwater withdrawal from the San Joaquin Valley aquifer system has caused areas of the ground to sink as much as 10 feet, a process known as land subsidence. This could result in serious operational and structural issues for the Delta-Mendota Canal (DMC). In response, the USGS is studying and providing information on groundwater...Land Subsidence Along the California Aqueduct
Subsidence is a global problem and, in the United States, more than 17,000 square miles in 45 States, an area roughly the size of New Hampshire and Vermont combined, have been directly affected by subsidence. More than 80 percent of the identified subsidence in the United States is a consequence of human impact on subsurface water.Subsidence from Aquifer-Storage and Recovery in the East Bay Plain
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) has proposed to store and recover as much as 10 million gallons of water per day (MGD) at an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) site, the Bayside Groundwater Project. Water will be stored in a 100-ft sequence of coarse-grained sediment (the "Deep Aquifer") underlying the East Bay Plain and the adjacent Niles Cone ground-water basin.Land Subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the nation. Beginning around the 1920's, farmers relied upon groundwater for water supply. Over time, overpumping caused groundwater-level declines and associated aquifer-system compaction and land subsidence that resulted in permanent aquifer-system storage loss.California Water Use
The U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Use Information Program compiles the nation's water-use data at the county, state, and national levels. USGS five-year reports on national and state water-use estimates between 1950-2015 are posted on the web at: http://water.usgs.gov/watuse/. USGS water-use data for states and counties for 1985-2015 are available at: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/wu.California Water Use, 2010
In 2010, Californians withdrew an estimated total of 38 billion gallons of water per day, compared with 46 billion gallons per day in 2005. - Data
Irrigation water use reanalysis for the 2000-20 period by HUC12, month, and year for the conterminous United States
This data release provides a monthly irrigation water use reanalysis for the period 2000-20 for all USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset of Subwatersheds (HUC12) in the conterminous United States (CONUS). Results include reference evapotranspiration (ETo), actual evapotranspiration (ETa), irrigated areas, consumptive use, and effective precipitation for each HUC12. ETo and ETa were estimated using theMODFLOW 6 model and ensemble used in the simulation of groundwater flow and land subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer, 1897-2018 (ver. 2.0, September 2023)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District and Fort Bend Subsidence District, constructed a finite-difference numerical groundwater-flow model of the northern Gulf Coast aquifer region for 1897 through 2018 using MODFLOW 6 with the Newton formulation solver to simulate groundwater flow and land-surface subsidence. Model parameter estimation andCentral Valley Hydrologic Model version 2 (CVHM2): Observation Data (Groundwater Level, Streamflow, Subsidence) from 1916 to 2018 (ver. 2.0, June 2023)
This digital dataset includes three sets of observational data (groundwater level, streamflow, subsidence) used to calibrate the updated Central Valley Hydrologic Model (CVHM2)Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar-Derived Subsidence Contours for the West-Central San Joaquin Valley, California, 2008-10
Extensive groundwater withdrawal from the unconsolidated deposits in the San Joaquin Valley caused widespread aquifer-system compaction and resultant land subsidence from 1926 to 1970—locally exceeding 8.5 meters. The importation of surface water beginning in the early 1950s through the Delta-Mendota Canal and in the early 1970s through the California Aqueduct resulted in decreased groundwater pumInterferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and Groundwater-Level Data, Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, California, 1970-2018
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for 2015 through 2018 from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Sentinel-1A satellite were acquired from the Alaskan Satellite Facility and used to generate spatially detailed land-surface deformation maps (interferograms) for the Pajaro Valley using conventional Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) workflows. Groundwater-level data for 1970 thourgh 20Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Data, Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater Basins, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California, 2014-19
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Sentinel-1A satellite were acquired for this study from the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) and used to generate spatially detailed land-surface deformation maps (interferograms) for the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins during 2014–19 using InSAR methods.Verified Irrigated Agricultural Lands for the United States, 2002-17
The spatial extents of verified irrigated lands were compiled from various federal and state sources across the nation and combined into a single Geographic Information System (GIS) geodatabase for the purpose of model training and validation. In cooperation with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), researchers at the University of Wisconsin (UW) generated a nation-wide map of irrigated lands using remo2015 calendar-year county-level estimates of actual evapotranspiration for the conterminous United States and Hawaii
Actual evapotranspiration (ETa) values estimated for specified areas including 1) total county areas; 2) potentially irrigated areas within each county; and 3) mapped extents of irrigated lands within each county provided by some states. These ETa estimates were provided to the USGS National Water Use Science Project by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center (Gabriel SenayGlobal Positioning System Survey data for 2015, and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Data for 1995-2017, Coachella Valley, Riverside County, California
GPS data collection: GPS measurements were taken at 24 geodetic monuments during September 27-October 2, 2015. The GPS surveys generally followed established guidelines (Zilkoski and others, 1997), except that the data were processed with single-baseline, rather than multi-baseline, software. GPS measurements were recorded at the monuments on at least 2 different days during 1-hour observation per - Multimedia
Land Subsidence near El Nido, CA
National Geodetic Survey vertical control bench mark H1235 RESET in Merced County, California. H 1235 RESET is in the median of State Highway 15. This is one of several bench mark locations used to help measure the largest recent subsidence in the area using repeat surveys.
National Geodetic Survey vertical control bench mark H1235 RESET in Merced County, California. H 1235 RESET is in the median of State Highway 15. This is one of several bench mark locations used to help measure the largest recent subsidence in the area using repeat surveys.
Land Subsidence near El Nido, CANational Geodetic Survey vertical control bench mark W990 CADWR in Merced County, California. W 990 CADWR is on the Mariposa Bypass Bridge on Washington Rd. This is one of several bench mark locations used to help measure the largest recent subsidence in the area using repeat surveys.
National Geodetic Survey vertical control bench mark W990 CADWR in Merced County, California. W 990 CADWR is on the Mariposa Bypass Bridge on Washington Rd. This is one of several bench mark locations used to help measure the largest recent subsidence in the area using repeat surveys.
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 23
Hydrogeology, land-surface subsidence, and documentation of the Gulf Coast Land Subsidence and Groundwater-Flow (GULF) model, southeast Texas, 1897–2018
Executive SummaryAs a part of the Texas Water Development Board groundwater availability modeling program, the U.S. Geological Survey developed the Gulf Coast Land Subsidence and Groundwater-Flow model (hereinafter, the “GULF model”) and ensemble to simulate groundwater flow and land-surface subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer system (the study area) in Texas from predevelopmAuthorsJ.H. Ellis, Jacob E. Knight, Jeremy T. White, Michelle Sneed, Joseph D. Hughes, Jason K. Ramage, Christopher L. Braun, Andrew Teeple, Linzy K. Foster, Samuel H. Rendon, Justin T. BrandtMapping structural control through analysis of land-surface deformation for the Rialto-Colton groundwater subbasin, San Bernardino County, California, 1992–2010
The locations of many faults in and near the Rialto-Colton groundwater subbasin are not precisely known because the spatial density of existing lithologic and hydrologic data used to infer the locations of faults can be sparse. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, analyzed structural control of groundwater flow in and near the Rialto-CAuthorsJustin T. BrandtDetection and measurement of land-surface deformation, Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, California, 2015–18
Land-surface deformation (subsidence) caused by groundwater withdrawal is identified as an undesirable result in the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s Basin Management Plan and California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. In Pajaro Valley, groundwater provides nearly 90 percent of the total water supply. To aid the development of sustainable groundwater management criteria, the U.S.AuthorsJustin T. Brandt, Marisa M. Earll, Michelle Sneed, Wesley R. HensonDocumentation of methods and inventory of irrigation information collected for the 2015 U.S. Geological Survey estimated use of water in the United States
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Use Science Project strives to report water-use estimates using the best available information for the period of the estimates. The information available on water used for irrigation activities varies from State to State and in some areas from county to county within a State, which results in many information sources and methods being used to estimaAuthorsJaime A. Painter, Justin T. Brandt, Rodney R. Caldwell, Jonathan V. Haynes, Amy L. ReadDetection and measurement of land subsidence and uplift using Global Positioning System surveys and interferometric synthetic aperture radar, Coachella Valley, California, 2010–17
Groundwater has been a major source of agricultural, recreational, municipal, and domestic supply in the Coachella Valley of California since the early 1920s. Pumping of groundwater resulted in groundwater-level declines as large as 50 feet (ft) or 15 meters (m) by the late 1940s. Because of concerns that the declines could cause land subsidence, the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) and theAuthorsMichelle Sneed, Justin T. BrandtMitigating land subsidence in the Coachella Valley, California, USA: An emerging success story
Groundwater has been a major source of agricultural, municipal, and domestic water supply since the early 1920s in the Coachella Valley, California, USA. Land subsidence, resulting from aquifer-system compaction and groundwater-level declines, has been a concern of the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) since the mid-1990s. As a result, the CVWD has implemented several projects to address grouAuthorsMichelle Sneed, Justin T. BrandtDetection and measurement of land subsidence and uplift using interferometric synthetic aperture radar, San Diego, California, USA, 2016–2018
Land subsidence associated with groundwater-level declines is stipulated as an “undesirable effect” in California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), and has been identified as a potential issue in San Diego, California, USA. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Sweetwater Authority, and the City of San Diego, undertook a cooperative study to better understand the hydromechAuthorsJustin T. Brandt, Michelle Sneed, Wesley R. DanskinEvaluation of land subsidence and ground failures at Bicycle Basin, Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, 1992–2017
Groundwater has been pumped in the Bicycle Basin at Fort Irwin National Training Center since the 1960s, and the amount pumped has generally increased since the 1990s. After a large crack (approximately 0.5-kilometer long) formed at the surface of Bicycle Lake playa during 2005–06 in the area used as an aircraft runway, a monitoring study was initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperationAuthorsJill N. Densmore, Kevin M. Ellett, Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, James F. Howle, Andrew Y. Morita, Rodrigo Borela, Antonio Bobet, Drew C. ThayerLand subsidence along the California Aqueduct in west-central San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003–10
Extensive groundwater withdrawal from the unconsolidated deposits in the San Joaquin Valley caused widespread aquifer-system compaction and resultant land subsidence from 1926 to 1970—locally exceeding 8.5 meters. The importation of surface water beginning in the early 1950s through the Delta-Mendota Canal and in the early 1970s through the California Aqueduct resulted in decreased groundwater pumAuthorsMichelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Michael SoltWater-resources and land-surface deformation evaluation studies at Fort Irwin National Training Center, Mojave Desert, California
The U.S. Army Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), in the Mojave Desert, obtains all of its potable water supply from three groundwater basins (Irwin, Langford, and Bicycle) within the NTC boundaries (fig. 1; California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Because of increasing water demands at the NTC, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army, completed severalAuthorsJill N. Densmore, Justine E. Dishart, David M. Miller, David C. Buesch, Lyndsay B. Ball, Paul A. Bedrosian, Linda R. Woolfenden, Geoffrey Cromwell, Matthew K. Burgess, Joseph Nawikas, David O'Leary, Adam Kjos, Michelle Sneed, Justin T. BrandtLand subsidence and recovery in the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico, 1993–2014
The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) drinking water supply was almost exclusively sourced from groundwater from within the Albuquerque Basin before 2008. In 2008, the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project (SJCDWP) provided surface-water resources to augment the groundwater supply, allowing for a reduction in groundwater pumping in the Albuquerque Basin. In 2013, the UAuthorsJessica M. Driscoll, Justin T. BrandtLand subsidence in the southwestern Mojave Desert, California, 1992–2009
Groundwater has been the primary source of domestic, agricultural, and municipal water supplies in the southwestern Mojave Desert, California, since the early 1900s. Increased demands on water supplies have caused groundwater-level declines of more than 100 feet (ft) in some areas of this desert between the 1950s and the 1990s (Stamos and others, 2001; Sneed and others, 2003). These water-level deAuthorsJustin T. Brandt, Michelle Sneed