Potential Impacts of Future Geological Storage of CO2 on the Groundwater Resources in California’s Central Valley: Southern San Joaquin Basin Oil and Gas Production Analog for Geologic Carbon Storage

California Energy Commission (CEC) | May 1st, 2013

This study investigated the potential impacts of the injection and storage of large quantities of carbon dioxide on shallow water resources in California’s southern San

This study investigated the potential impacts of the injection and storage of large quantities of carbon dioxide on shallow water resources in California’s southern San Joaquin Basin, including the possibility that if such injection was properly planned it might help mitigate the land subsidence impacts related to over-pumping of groundwater. The project used simulation studies to investigate whether the basin-scale pressure changes and brine displacement caused by future carbon dioxide storage in the deep sediments could impact the groundwater-surface water systems in the area. Two simulation models were developed. The Deep Basin Reservoir Simulation Model was developed for accurately simulating the multiphase processes of carbon dioxide and brine flow occurring in deep sequestration reservoirs. The Shallow Water Resources Impact Simulation Model was developed for accurately predicting the impact of deep carbon dioxide sequestration on a stressed water system, including evaluation of carbon dioxide-related impacts in the context of the long-term groundwater and subsidence trends occurring in the area as a result of other water stresses such as pumping and irrigation. The Deep Basin Reservoir Simulation Model showed that the caprock and overlying geological units had sufficient barrier attributes to prevent pressure propagation from the injection layer to the shallow aquifers. The Shallow Water Resources Impact Simulation Model simulation results showed that deep carbon dioxide injection would create only minor head change and surface uplift in the shallow model layers. Overall the simulation results suggested that even large carbon dioxide storage projects should have minimal impact on shallow groundwater and surface water systems if thick layers of shales and sands separated the deep CO2 injection layers from shallow aquifers. Researchers believed this study justified devoting resources to evaluating the potential impact from localized pathways or from induced seismicity to more thoroughly investigate the feasibility of carbon dioxide storage in the southern San Joaquin Basin. 

Progress Report: Subsidence in California, March 2015 – September 2016

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) | February 7th, 2017

Subsidence caused by groundwater pumping in the Central Valley has been a problem for decades. Over the last few years, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) h

Subsidence caused by groundwater pumping in the Central Valley has been a problem for decades. Over the last few years, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has been used from satellites and aircraft to produce maps of subsidence with sensitivity of fractions of an inch. For this study, we have obtained and analyzed data from the European Space Agency’s satellite-borne Sentinel-1A from the period March 2015 – September 2016 and the NASA airborne UAVSAR for the period March 2015 – June 2016, and produced maps of total subsidence from the two data sets. These data add to the earlier data processed from the Japanese PALSAR for 2006 – 2010, Canadian Radarsat-2 for the period May 2014 – January 2015, and UAVSAR for July 2013 - March 2015, for which subsidence measurements were reported previously (Farr et al., 2015). Here we also present results for the South-Central coast of California including Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and north to the San Joaquin Valley as well as the Santa Clara Valley from colleagues who have processed Sentinel-1A data covering March 2015 – March 2016. As multiple scenes were acquired during these periods, we can also produce time histories of subsidence at selected locations and transects showing how subsidence varies both spatially and temporally.

Pumping and Ground-Water Storage Depletion in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, 1955-1974

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 1st, 1976

Rapid subsidence over oil fields measured by SAR interferometry: Geophysical Research Letters

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | September 1st, 1998

The Lost Hills and Belridge oilfields are in the San Joaquin Valley, California. The major oil reservoir is high porosity and low permeability diatomite. Extraction of la

The Lost Hills and Belridge oilfields are in the San Joaquin Valley, California. The major oil reservoir is high porosity and low permeability diatomite. Extraction of large volumes from shallow depths causes reduction in pore pressure and subsequent compaction, forming a surface sub- sidence bowl. We measure this subsidence from space using interferometric analysis of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) data collected by the European Space Agency Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS-1 and ERS-2). Maximum subsidence rates are as high as 40 mm in 35 days or > 400 mm/yr, measured from interferograms with time separations ranging from one day to 26 months. The 8- and 26-month inter-ferograms contain areas where the subsidence gradient exceeds the measurement possible with ERS SAR, but shows increased detail in areas of less rapid subsidence. Synoptic mapping of subsidence distribution from satellite data powerfully complements ground-based techniques, permits measurements where access is difficult, and aids identification of underlying causes

Record of Decision Friant-Kern Canal Middle Reach Capacity Correction Project

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | November 4th, 2020

The United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), as the Federal lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Fria

The United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), as the Federal lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Friant Water Authority (FWA) as the State lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), prepared the Friant-Kern Canal Middle Reach Capacity Correction Project (Project) Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) to assess impacts of the Project. The Project is being proposed to restore the capacity of a 33-mile reach of the Friant-Kern Canal (FKC) to its original design and constructed conveyance capacity. Click here for a directory with links to the federal environmental documents for the Friant-Kern Canal Middle Reach Capacity Correction Project.

Regional land subsidence accompanying groundwater extraction

Hydrogeology Journal (Springer) | August 26th, 2011

The extraction of groundwater can generate land subsidence by causing the compaction of susceptible aquifer systems, typically unconsolidated alluvial or basin-fill aquif

The extraction of groundwater can generate land subsidence by causing the compaction of susceptible aquifer systems, typically unconsolidated alluvial or basin-fill aquifer systems comprising aquifers and aquitards. Various ground-based and remotely sensed methods are used to measure and map subsidence. Many areas of subsidence caused by groundwater pumping have been identified and monitored, and corrective measures to slow or halt subsidence have been devised. Two principal means are used to mitigate subsidence caused by groundwater withdrawal—reduction of groundwater withdrawal, and artificial recharge. Analysis and simulation of aquifer-system compaction follow from the basic relations between head, stress, compressibility, and groundwater flow and are addressed primarily using two approaches—one based on conventional groundwater flow theory and one based on linear poroelasticity theory. Research and development to improve the assessment and analysis of aquifer-system compaction, the accompanying subsidence and potential ground ruptures are needed in the topic areas of the hydromechanical behavior of aquitards, the role of horizontal deformation, the application of differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry, and the regional-scale simulation of coupled groundwater flow and aquifer-system deformation to support resource management and hazard mitigation measures.

Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta Dilemma

Assembly Office of Research (AOR) | January 1st, 1982

Sensing the ups and downs of Las Vegas: InSAR reveals structural control of land subsidence and aquifer-system deformation

Geological Society of America (GSA) | June 1st, 1999

Land subsidence in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, between April 1992 and December 1997 was measured using spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar. The deta

Land subsidence in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, between April 1992 and December 1997 was measured using spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar. The detailed deformation maps clearly show that the spatial extent of subsidence is controlled by geologic structures (faults) and sediment composition (clay thickness). The maximum detected subsidence during the 5.75 yr period is 19 cm. Comparison with leveling data indicates that the subsidence rates declined during the past decade as a result of rising ground-water levels brought about by a net reduction in ground-water extraction. Temporal analysis also detects seasonal subsidence and uplift patterns, which provide information about the elastic and inelastic properties of the aquifer system and their spatial variability.

Sensing the ups and downs of Las Vegas: InSAR reveals structuralcontrol of land subsidence and aquifer‐system deformation

Geological Society of America (GSA) | June 1st, 1999

Land subsidence in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, between April 1992 and December 1997 was measured using spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar. The deta

Land subsidence in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, between April 1992 and December 1997 was measured using spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar. The detailed deformation maps clearly show that the spatial extent of subsidence is controlled by geologic structures (faults) and sediment composition (clay thickness). The maximum detected subsidence during the 5.75 yr period is 19 cm. Comparison with leveling data indicates that the subsidence rates declined during the past decade as a result of rising ground-water levels brought about by a net reduction in ground-water extraction. Temporal analysis also detects seasonal subsidence and uplift patterns, which provide information about the elastic and inelastic properties of the aquifer system and their spatial variability.

Short-lived pause in Central California subsidence after heavy winter precipitation of 2017

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | August 29th, 2018

The Tulare Basin in Central California is a site of intensive agricultural activity and extraction of groundwater, with pronounced ground subsidence and degradation of wa

The Tulare Basin in Central California is a site of intensive agricultural activity and extraction of groundwater, with pronounced ground subsidence and degradation of water resources over the past century. Spatially extensive observations of ground displacements from satellite-based remote sensing allow us to infer the response of the aquifer system to changes in usage and to marked recharge events such as the heavy winter rainfall in 2017. Radar imagery from the Sentinel-1a/b satellites (November 2014 to October 2017) illuminates secular and seasonal trends modulated by changes in withdrawal rates and the magnitude of winter precipitation. Despite the increased precipitation in early 2017 that led to a marked decrease, or in some areas, reversal, of subsidence rates, subsidence returned to rates observed during the drought within a matter of months.