Soil fracturing induced by land subsidence

Soil fracturing occurs due to the development of shear and tension stresses within the soil mass. Fracture mechanics constitutes a useful theoretical framework for this problem. Different types of cracks have been observed in the Mexico City basin and other parts of the Mexican Republic. Several fracturing mechanisms have been identified. Some of them are a clear consequence of land subsidence due to pumping in deep aquifers. This paper illustrates this type of fractures with actual field observations and presents a brief review of the attempts that have been made at modelling this phenomenon.