Benchmark monitoring

Chesapeake Bay region has the highest rate of relative sea-level rise on the Atlantic Coast of the United States, and data indicate that vertical land motion in the form of subsidence has been responsible for more than half the relative sea-level rise measured in the Chesapeake Bay region. The Chesapeake Bay Vertical Land Motion Project is a cooperative effort between the USGS and our many...

Land subsidence is a loss of ground elevation, often experienced as the ground slowly sinking over the course of years. In eastern Virginia, high rates of groundwater use is a major factor in the land subsidence affecting the area. The Virginia-West Virginia Water Science Center, with the help of our partners, has been monitoring land subsidence in the Virginia Coastal Plain since 1979 using a...

Issue: Chesapeake Bay region has the highest rate of relative sea-level rise on the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Scientists use the term relative sea-level rise to describe the change in ocean height relative to changes in land elevation. Data indicate that vertical land motion in the form of subsidence has been responsible for more than half the relative sea-level rise measured in the...

In the Chesapeake Bay area, the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center is partnering with over a dozen organizations in a pilot project this fall, resulting in the establishment of a baseline reference for an ongoing effort in monitoring coastal subsidence.

The southern Chesapeake Bay region is experiencing land subsidence along with rising sea levels, both of which can contribute to coastal flooding. The rates at which these two processes are occurring are not exactly known. Mapping of land elevation change requires ground-truth survey data at multiple locations that are accurate and precise. With the exception of a few CORS sites that have...