San Andreas Fault Affected by Water Removal

The over-800-mile-long break of rock in California has formed a dangerous reputation for itself over the years, particularly since 1906 when an earthquake leveled most of San Francisco. The earthquake measured at a magnitude of 7.8 and killed about 3,000 people. A new film,San Andreas,is even being produced around the fault, an action thriller starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson that will release in 2015. But the latest finding about the San Andreas Fault is that it can be negatively affected by the removal of water for irrigation or other purposes.

Readings from GPS technology revealed that water levels in the San Joaquin Valley aquifer have lowered and the mountains nearby have simultaneously risen. This has led the San Andreas Fault to undergo changes in pressure levels. Geologist Colin Amos from Western Washington University noted in his studies that the stress changes received from fluctuating water levels are minute compared to the pressure changes on a fault before a major earthquake.

While information like this may not indicate an immediate danger through water level changes, it does not mean business, agriculture and human activity can all necessarily proceed unaltered.Naturejournal published the findings from Amos' study on Wednesday, and suggest that other human-related activities can cause the San Andreas Fault to unclamp, resulting in the possibility of greater future volatility.

Data retrieved from satellites over the past decade show that much of the groundwater in and near the California Central Valley has been depleted more quickly than it can be re-filled. Amos and his colleagues used this information to discover that water removal and the changes affecting the San Andreas Fault are linked to even more variables.

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Taxonomy

• Irrigation
• Biodiversity
• Aquifer