A number of soil properties influence the potential for subsidence.

We have several ways of describing the unknown or the difficult to perceive.  One of the most common idioms for that kind of situation is by saying a lot is going on “beneath the surface.”  This book chapter from the U.S. Geological Survey describes a situation where that’s literally true: they describe methods for evaluating subsurface soil properties and their effect on subsidence.  They evaluate several properties, such as particle-size distribution, porosity, specific gravity, and “consolidation.”  Part of the test to evaluate consolidation of sediments begins with what might seem an obvious step: weighing on a platform scale.

For further information visit wwwrcamnl.wr.usgs.gov.

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