What might happen if there is excessive water removal from the Central Valley Aquifer in California?(1 point)
Responses
It could cause faults to be less stable, resulting in earthquakes.
It could cause faults to be less stable, resulting in earthquakes.
It can cause severe weather changes in California.
It can cause severe weather changes in California.
It can transform California completely to a desert.
It can transform California completely to a desert.
It could force tectonic plates to move, resulting in volcanoes.
Excessive water removal (overdraft) from the Central Valley Aquifer in California can lead to a number of negative environmental issues. However, the most immediate and well-documented impact is land subsidence, which is the gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth's surface. While land subsidence itself doesn't cause earthquakes, it can alter the stress on fault lines, potentially affecting their stability indirectly, though this would not be the most immediate or prominent concern.
The options provided suggest different outcomes, each with varying degrees of likelihood:
- It could cause faults to be less stable, resulting in earthquakes: While there might be some indirect effects on the stability of faults due to changes in the stress regime caused by subsidence, it is not a direct cause of earthquakes and is less likely compared to other impacts.
- It can cause severe weather changes in California: Weather patterns are primarily driven by atmospheric conditions. While depletion of aquifers can affect local climates to some extent, by altering land surface properties and potentially affecting local moisture levels, it's not likely to cause "severe weather changes" in the short term.
- It can transform California completely to a desert: While the loss of groundwater can exacerbate drought conditions and could contribute to desertification processes, it would not single-handedly transform the entire state into a desert. Desertification is a complex process influenced by many factors, including climate change, land management practices, and natural variability.
- It could force tectonic plates to move, resulting in volcanoes: This is unlikely as tectonic plate movement is driven by forces deep within the Earth's mantle, and volcanic activity is related to the movement of magma and is not directly influenced by groundwater extraction.
The most scientifically supported immediate consequence of excessive water removal from an aquifer is land subsidence, which can damage infrastructure, reduce the aquifer's storage capacity, and alter drainage patterns. It's essential to monitor and manage groundwater usage to prevent these and other long-term negative effects on the environment and human society.