The Sinking Earth
A natural phenomenon has occurred far too long on land and ocean floors, and very little scientific data is known.
As the planet continues to suffer from Climate Change, water and drought play a significant role in naturally created sinkholes. A natural phenomenon has occurred far too long on land and ocean floors, and hardly any scientific data is proven to educate the community. It’s only time before another sinkhole displaces a community from a natural disaster event.
Bimmah Sinkhole is now a tourist attraction, with added children's playgrounds and bathrooms on the grounds. Bimmah Sinkhole is located near the Arabian Sea at Bayt al-Afreet, Oman.
Research Questions
What types of water activity affect (either directly or indirectly) contribute to sinkholes?
According to the United States Geological Survey, a sinkhole is a depression with no natural external surface drainage. All the water stays inside the sinkhole and typically drains into the subsurface. The subsurface is compressed of soil and dissolving rocks like salt beds, gypsum, limestone, and other carbonate rocks. When these rocks dissolve, it creates spaces underground and caverns full of water. Direct and indirect effects are the amount of rainfall collected from rain, flash floods, and rising coast sea. Geologists call sinkholes karst terrain.
Homeowners of ten houses in Hudson, Tampa Bay, Florida, living over the underwater cave system.
What are human activity's historical and current impacts on sinkholes in the United States and the world?
The primary activities contributing to sinkholes in the United States are broken sewer lines, drainpipes, and improperly compacted soil after excavations. Another factor that also is developing is the fact that people want to build homes near roads and parking lots. This also raises the question of whether the sinkholes are natural or human-induced activity. Most of the outside world has shown that since irrigation's invention, improper water diverting into weak points beneath the earth will accelerate the creation of the pits into which houses, cars, and, unfortunately, people fall.
The making of a sinkhole; rainwater and pond water soaks into the aquifer limestone, dissolves the limestone, and create underground water caves. When the pressure of the dirt above becomes too heavy, the creator collapse.
What is being done today to address sinkholes in the United States?
Unfortunate, there is no foolproof way to prevent sinkholes. However, we can limit their threat by taking care of your home and land and being aware of local concerns. Hiring a building and land inspector are preventable actions that can survey your house and land for any ground movement. You can also replace old utility pipes and divert water waste to proper drainage control. Contractors use a similar method to grouting to help eliminate some risks in karst/limestone areas. The procedure injects a mixture of particles and chemicals into the ground to fill cracks, holes, and unstable rock layers. It prevents any further degradation caused by sinkholes.
Why are you choosing to focus on this topic in this course?
Since my first sighting, a sinkhole in the local news broadcast, my enthusiasm for sinkholes grew. From a Homeland Security/ FEMA Emergency Management- Incident Command System for Initial Response perspective, disasters occur daily. But it comes down to how prepared is the local emergency authority to respond to a natural disaster of this magnitude. Sinkholes don’t just happen in the United States but affect the entire world. The importance of this natural phenomenon affects the community in residential areas and agricultural fields where crops are grown, and it crosses borderline throughout the globe without remorse. Besides a financial impact on the complex hit areas of the sinkhole, the surrounding areas near the disaster will see a slight decline in emergency personnel.
Annotation 1
E. Spencer Fleury, Steve Carson and Robert Brinkmann, May 2008, “Testing reporting bias in the Florida sinkhole database: an analysis of sinkhole occurrences in the Tampa metropolitan statistical area”, Southeastern Geographer(Vol. 48, Issue 1), University of North Carolina Press. Testing reporting bias in the Florida sinkhole database: an analysis of sinkhole occurrences in the Tampa metropolitan statistical area - Document - GaleAcademic OneFile (oregonstate.edu)
The above source highlights the need to analyze and create a database to increase the predictable approach to an event of a sinkhole. The authors also highlight the three major sinkholes in the Florida areas; dissolution sinkholes, cover subsidence sinkholes, and cover collapse sinkholes. The authors also statistically identify the number of damages caused by sinkholes and how it relates to insurance costs versus hurricane damage costs.
After reading this report, I learned about the significant types of sinkholes. Dissolution sinkholes occur when the underlying limestone dissolves. Cover subsidence sinkholes occur when subterranean cavities are filled with pipes and no cohesive cover sediments. And cover collapse sinkholes are holes formed under cohesive sedimentary that washes away and slumps down. I also learn that the State of Florida has a large bedrock of limestone that covers most of the state.
Annotation 2
K. Clark, Allan, July 2021, “Karst Aquifers” USGS Karst Interest Group and Oklahoma- Texas Water Science Center, KarstAquifers | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)
The above author defined and described what Karst Terrains are, how they form, and the principal rock involved. The article describes how karst aquifers are an essential resource of underground water in the United States. It also explains how underground water is interconnected into a vast network of underground karst.
After further reading this article, I learned that most underground water sitting east of the Colorado Mountains was snowfall, and heavy rains saturate the land. Another thing that I also learned is that Limestone, Gypsum, and Salt are soluble rocks that dissolve over time as volcanic bedrock contains many voids where water settles until disturbed. This article's source helps identify the karst aquifers and how carbonate, evaporite, and volcanic bedrock interact.
Annotation 3
J. David Weary, D. Bret Tobin, Jan 1994, Engineering Aspects of Karst: US Geological Survey, USGS Publications Warehouse, Water ScienceSchool | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)
After reading the above publication, the author highlights the efficiency and importance of economic water resources in our nation. The author estimated the use of water in the United States in 2015 to be about 322 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d). This article also covered the connection between agricultural and water ecosystems that depend on availability.
I read more about how water is a resource of significant importance and what we need to do to conserve it more. I learned that as a nation, we are not sustaining the quality of water resources we need to maintain healthy and diverse ecosystems. To be more effective in our water management, we need to teach the young and re-teach the old how to conserve more rapidly before we drain our underground water resources. Illustrated to the right, you can see a significant water resource network connecting our nation.
Annotation 4
James Orry, The Organic Studio, Infographic created for Direct Line Insurance; March 6, 2020, Sinkholes Explained: the science and the fiction. Sinkholes:How Are They Caused? (directline.com)
After reading the article home insurance of sinkholes and how to protect your house the author cited 22 sinkholes that were reported to the British Geological Survey in 2014. Of those reported to the UK authorities, 19 were human development affecting natural processes. The author also continues to address to secure your home with the proper insurance to cover the right policy.
I learned from this infographic and article that insurance companies want to make money, whether in the United States or Great Britain. The report does cover that in metropolitan areas, burst water mains or aged sewage systems the usually the leading cause of the collapse of a sinkhole.
Annotation 5
Williams, Paul, Jan 2004, “Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science,” Taylor & Francis. pp. 1-21, 628–642. ISBN 978-1-57958-399-6 .
This book covers everything you want to know about caves and karst. The book is more of an overview book covering everything you need to know about caving and cave rescues. The book's introduction talks about major incidents involving caving rescues and accidents that occur while caving. According to the author, this is a growing sport internationally and has increased by 80% in Britain and 92% in the United States by 2011.
Reading this book, I learn that the best to be during a collapse of a cave or karst is in the outmost region of the area, which is the last to give way during the event. I also learned that you are less likely to survive the collapse during rainfall or flash floods than during a hot, dry day. Weather plays a significant role in a dynamic event that can change depending on the subterranean surface and the amount of groundwater in the area. The map illustrates the amount of limestone in the world.
Annotation 6
James Vincent, Feb 18, 2014, “What are sinkholes, how do they form, and why are we seeing so many?” News- Science, Independent Newspaper, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/sinkholes-what-are-they-how-do-they-form-and-why-are-we-seeing-so-many-9136235.html
Reading this newspaper article, the author gives examples of sinkholes in the last ten years. The author agrees that most sinkholes are by-products of human activity—mainly from improper water drainage systems that fun=off from roofs and tarmac. The author covers one of the deadliest that killed fifteen people and swallowed a three-story building. According to the article, this was due to Tropical storm Agatha and leakage from a local sewerage pipe.
I did learn from this author that the enormous sinkhole ever recorded in China. The Xiaozhai Tiankeng is a Heavenly Pit, as it translates literally. This sinkhole is 2,171 feet deep (723 football fields) and 2,053 feet wide (684 football fields). The other being first picture above with the scuba driver is the Great Blue Hole in Belize, a measurement of 407 feet deep. And at the bottom of this sinkhole is Hydrogen Sulfide, a colorless gas that is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable (similar foul odor of rotten eggs.). So no life lives at the bottom of this sinkhole.
Annotation 7
AC Waltham, PG Fookes, 2003, Engineering Classification of Karst Ground Conditions, Vol 36, pp 101-118, Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology. Microsoft Word -SG_3-1_Waltham.doc (speleogenesis.com)
Reading the engineering classification of karst, the author detailed the different parameters in conjunction with the foundations and ground investigation guidelines for the various classes of karst. The engineering approach labels the concepts by scale and classification using karst class, mean sinkhole density, typical cave size, rockhead relief, and weather conditions. By teaching engineers to classify the geohazard’s scale of karst, engineers can be more efficient in ground investigation and recognize techniques as essential practices.
This was a perfect Journal to read, as I learned the morphological features of karstic ground conditions that separate the five classifications of karst. The first is Juvenile, Youthful, Mature, Complex, and then Extreme. Likely, for us, we have only seen mature karst sinkholes developed. But with more water and unstable sediment, we might start to see Complex and Extreme Karst, which can be seen in Tropical dry and wet regions. The overall topography of the earth's surface can be classified as Mature Karst.
I wasn’t expecting to learn much about sinkholes other than climate change is causing them. But I was blown away by how much I did acquire. The subject entangles every aspect of life one can imagine, from engineering to sport caving, from science to the creation of the planet. I can’t imagine that in the middle of the ocean, with tons of water plus the weight of the water above it, there are still caves and karst below the ocean floor that doesn’t collapse from the weight. It’s mind-blowing, yet if my street blows the water main, it creates a sinkhole that blocks the road for weeks until they can refill the hole. This world still somehow ceased to amaze me.
I was amazed at how the world interconnects with everyday life, whether economics, border security, or food. The world as we see it all comes together in this class. We covered many themes, concepts, and issues that will help me stay open for conversation with anybody I encounter. What I find normal might not be customary for someone else on the other side. So learning traditional cultures and briefs is the beginning of enlightenment in my academic life.
The western world as we know it has changed and will continue to change as time progresses. The citizens of the world west need to adapt not only to the western world but also to other cultures or under-developed countries. Be patient and practice good manners because manners matter. Think of manners as your car blinker before you make a turn in your vehicle.
