Before and after imagery of the original Franklin Extensometer. The original Franklin extensometer measured aquifer compaction near the groundwater pumping center at Franklin, Virginia from 1979 to 1995.
Franklin Extensometer Historical Photo
By Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center
2002 (approx.)
Detailed Description
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
Pope, J. P. (2002). Characterization and modeling of land subsidence due to groundwater withdrawals from the confined aquifers of the Virginia Coastal Plain (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Tech).
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
Pope, J. P. (2002). Characterization and modeling of land subsidence due to groundwater withdrawals from the confined aquifers of the Virginia Coastal Plain (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Tech).
Related
The Virginia Extensometer Network
Borehole extensometers are instruments that monitor land subsidence caused by aquifer compaction. They provide precise, high-resolution measurements of changes in aquifer-system thickness. These changes in aquifer-system thickness contribute to vertical land motion (VLM) across the Virginia Coastal Plain, and are driven primarily by groundwater level decline due to human water usage. The Virginia...
Land Subsidence on the Virginia Coastal Plain
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...
Check out more images of our Franklin Extensometer research site below:
Before and after imagery of the original Franklin Extensometer. The original Franklin extensometer measured aquifer compaction near the groundwater pumping center at Franklin, Virginia from 1979 to 1995.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
USGS Scientists Inspect A Research Site in Franklin, Virginia
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
2015 Franklin Extensometer Aquifer Rebound Damage
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
1940s Monitoring Well in Franklin, Virginia
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Related
The Virginia Extensometer Network
Borehole extensometers are instruments that monitor land subsidence caused by aquifer compaction. They provide precise, high-resolution measurements of changes in aquifer-system thickness. These changes in aquifer-system thickness contribute to vertical land motion (VLM) across the Virginia Coastal Plain, and are driven primarily by groundwater level decline due to human water usage. The Virginia...
Land Subsidence on the Virginia Coastal Plain
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...
Check out more images of our Franklin Extensometer research site below:
Before and After: Franklin Extensometer
Before and after imagery of the original Franklin Extensometer. The original Franklin extensometer measured aquifer compaction near the groundwater pumping center at Franklin, Virginia from 1979 to 1995.
Before and after imagery of the original Franklin Extensometer. The original Franklin extensometer measured aquifer compaction near the groundwater pumping center at Franklin, Virginia from 1979 to 1995.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
USGS Scientists Inspect A Research Site in Franklin, Virginia
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
2015 Franklin Extensometer Aquifer Rebound Damage
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
1940s Monitoring Well in Franklin, Virginia
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.