Field-based computational techniques for predicting subsidence due to fluid withdrawal

Choice of a predictive technique for land subsidence is based on the availability of appropriate field data. An example of such a technique uses Schatz, Kasameyer, and Cheney's depth-porosity model. Their depth-porosity model for reservoir compaction is modified in the present paper and is combined with a modified form of Geertsma's nucleus of strain model to form a single predictive technique. At five of these sites in California, Texas, and New Zealand, these predictions are compared to measured subsidence. If field measurements of water-level fluctuations and the resulting time-dependent compression and expansion of geologic strata are locally available, use of a more refined predictive technique is justified. Tolman and Poland's conceptual model and Riley's parameter evaluation method have been combined with Helm's one-dimensional finite difference computational scheme to form a powerful time-dependent predictive technique. This technique has been field verified successfully at more than two dozen sites in California and Texas.--Modified book abstract.