Michelle Sneed
Michelle Sneed is a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. She spent 25 years leading land subsidence research in the California Water Science Center and now serves as the Technical Support Coordinator for Groundwater Science in the Office of Quality Assurance.
Michelle received her BS and MS degrees in geology from California State University, Sacramento, where she subsequently taught geology classes for 10 years. While at the California Water Science Center, she published many studies of land subsidence related to fluid-pressure changes in areas throughout California and other areas in the Western U.S., which often had a focus on subsidence impacts to water-conveyance infrastructure. She is a member of the UNESCO Land Subsidence International Initiative, the recognized leader in promoting global land subsidence studies. At the Office of Quality Assurance, she serves as a technical-knowledge and point-of-contact resource to USGS scientists for all aspects of groundwater science. Michelle helps maintain and foster the exceptional quality of data and science for which the USGS is known and respected by helping scientists understand and comply with USGS and DOI policies, processes, and procedures, and by identifying and communicating technical advancements and risks.
Science and Products
Subsidence from Aquifer-Storage and Recovery in the East Bay Plain
Piezometers and Groundwater Levels
Decomposition of Organic Soils in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Aquifer Compaction due to Groundwater Pumping
Land Subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley
Water-resources and land-surface deformation evaluation studies at Fort Irwin National Training Center, Mojave Desert, California
Geochemistry of mercury and other constituents in subsurface sediment—Analyses from 2011 and 2012 coring campaigns, Cache Creek Settling Basin, Yolo County, California
Land subsidence in the southwestern Mojave Desert, California, 1992–2009
Time-varying land subsidence detected by radar altimetry: California, Taiwan and north China
Hydrogeology, hydrologic effects of development, and simulation of groundwater flow in the Borrego Valley, San Diego County, California
Water availability and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, USA
Water availability and subsidence in California's Central Valley
Lithostratigraphic, borehole-geophysical, hydrogeologic, and hydrochemical data from the East Bay Plain, Alameda County, California
Land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley, California, USA, 2007-14
Land subsidence, groundwater levels, and geology in the Coachella Valley, California, 1993-2010
Subsidence (2004-2009) in and near lakebeds of the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins, southwest Mojave Desert, California
Land subsidence along the Delta-Mendota Canal in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003-10
Science and Products
- Science
Filter Total Items: 17
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.Piezometers and Groundwater Levels
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.Decomposition of Organic Soils in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of California was once a great tidal freshwater marsh. It is blanketed by peat and peaty alluvium deposited where streams originating in the Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges, and South Cascade Range enter San Francisco Bay. In the late 1800s, levees were built along the stream channels, and the land thus protected from flooding was drained, cleared, and planted (...Aquifer Compaction due to Groundwater Pumping
Although land subsidence caused by groundwater pumping has caused many negative effects on human civil works for centuries, especially in the highly developed urban or industrialized areas of Europe, the relation between subsidence and groundwater pumpage was not understood or recognized for a long time. Recognition began in 1928 when pioneer researcher O.E. Meinzer of the U.S. Geological Survey...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. - Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 44
Water-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. BrandtGeochemistry of mercury and other constituents in subsurface sediment—Analyses from 2011 and 2012 coring campaigns, Cache Creek Settling Basin, Yolo County, California
Cache Creek Settling Basin was constructed in 1937 to trap sediment from Cache Creek before delivery to the Yolo Bypass, a flood conveyance for the Sacramento River system that is tributary to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. Sediment management options being considered by stakeholders in the Cache Creek Settling Basin include sediment excavation; however, that could expose sediments containing eAuthorsMichelle R. Arias, Charles N. Alpers, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Christopher C. Fuller, Jennifer L. Agee, Michelle Sneed, Andrew Y. Morita, Antonia SalasLand 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 SneedTime-varying land subsidence detected by radar altimetry: California, Taiwan and north China
Contemporary applications of radar altimetry include sea-level rise, ocean circulation, marine gravity, and ice sheet elevation change. Unlike InSAR and GNSS, which are widely used to map surface deformation, altimetry is neither reliant on highly temporally-correlated ground features nor as limited by the available spatial coverage, and can provide long-term temporal subsidence monitoring capabilAuthorsCheinway Hwang, Yuande Yang, Ricky Kao, Jiancheng Han, C.K. Shum, Devin L. Galloway, Michelle Sneed, Wei-Chia Hung, Yung-Sheng Cheng, Fei LiHydrogeology, hydrologic effects of development, and simulation of groundwater flow in the Borrego Valley, San Diego County, California
Executive Summary The Borrego Valley is a small valley (110 square miles) in the northeastern part of San Diego County, California. Although the valley is about 60 miles northeast of city of San Diego, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean coast by the mountains to the west and is mostly within the boundaries of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. From the time the basin was first settled, groundwateAuthorsClaudia C. Faunt, Christina L. Stamos, Lorraine E. Flint, Michael T. Wright, Matthew K. Burgess, Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Peter Martin, Alissa L. CoesWater availability and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, USA
The Central Valley in California (USA) covers about 52,000 km2 and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This agriculture relies heavily on surface-water diversions and groundwater pumpage to meet irrigation water demand. Because the valley is semi-arid and surface-water availability varies substantially, agriculture relies heavily on local groundwater. In the southern tAuthorsClaudia C. Faunt, Michelle Sneed, Jonathan A. Traum, Justin T. BrandtWater availability and subsidence in California's Central Valley
The Central Valley in California (USA) covers about 52,000 km2 and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This agriculture relies heavily on surface-water diversions and groundwater pumpage to meet irrigation water demand. Because the valley is semi-arid and surface-water availability varies substantially, agriculture relies heavily on local groundwater. In the southern tAuthorsClaudia C. Faunt, Michelle Sneed, Jonathan A. Traum, Justin T. BrandtLithostratigraphic, borehole-geophysical, hydrogeologic, and hydrochemical data from the East Bay Plain, Alameda County, California
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the East Bay Municipal Utility District, carried out an investigation of aquifer-system deformation associated with groundwater-level changes at the Bayside Groundwater Project near the modern San Francisco Bay shore in San Lorenzo, California. As a part of the Bayside Groundwater Project, East Bay Municipal Utility District proposed an aquifer storaAuthorsMichelle Sneed, Patricia v.P. Orlando, James W. Borchers, Rhett R. Everett, Michael Solt, Mary McGann, Heather Lowers, Shannon MahanLand subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley, California, USA, 2007-14
Rapid land subsidence was recently measured using multiple methods in two areas of the San Joaquin Valley (SJV): between Merced and Fresno (El Nido), and between Fresno and Bakersfield (Pixley). Recent land-use changes and diminished surface-water availability have led to increased groundwater pumping, groundwater-level declines, and land subsidence. Differential land subsidence has reduced the flAuthorsMichelle Sneed, Justin T. BrandtLand subsidence, groundwater levels, and geology in the Coachella Valley, California, 1993-2010
Land subsidence associated with groundwater-level declines has been investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Coachella Valley, California, since 1996. Groundwater has been a major source of agricultural, municipal, and domestic supply in the valley since the early 1920s. Pumping of groundwater resulted in water-level declines as much as 15 meters (50 feet) through the late 1940s. In 1949,AuthorsMichelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Mike SoltSubsidence (2004-2009) in and near lakebeds of the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins, southwest Mojave Desert, California
Subsidence, in the vicinity of dry lakebeds, within the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins of the southwest Mojave Desert has been measured by Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). The investigation has focused on determining the location, extent, and magnitude of changes in land-surface elevation. In addition, the relation of changes in land-surface elevation to changes in grAuthorsMike Solt, Michelle SneedLand subsidence along the Delta-Mendota Canal in the northern part of the 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 pumping, initiaAuthorsMichelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Mike Solt - News