earth science

UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence

UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence rather than just read about it. In short: "Land Subsidence" was included in the UNESCO programme of the International Hydrological Decade (IHD), 1965–1974 and an ad hoc working group on land subsidence was formed. In 1975 subsidence was maintained under the framework of the UNESCO IHP (subproject 8.4: "Investigation of Land Subsidence due to Groundwater Exploitation") and UNESCO IHP formerly codified the Working Group on Land Subsidence (WGLS).

Key takeaways

UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

"Land Subsidence" was included in the UNESCO programme of the International Hydrological Decade (IHD), 1965–1974 and an ad hoc working group on land subsidence was formed. In 1975 subsidence was maintained under the framework of the UNESCO IHP (subproject 8.4: "Investigation of Land Subsidence due to Groundwater Exploitation") and UNESCO IHP formerly codified the Working Group on Land Subsidence (WGLS). From 2018 the Working Group has become a UNESCO initiative changing its name to UNESCO Land Subsidence International Initiative (LASII). The missions of the WGLS are:

Improve scientific and technical knowledge needed to identify and characterize threats related to natural and anthropogenic land subsidence. Stimulate and enable international exchange of information to sustenance sustainable groundwater resources development in areas susceptible to land subsidence through: design, implementation of mitigation actions as well as risk assessment. proposal for new effective resource-management policies.

Composition of the UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence The Intergovernmental Council for the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) created a Working Group on Land Subsidence for liaison of IHP subproject 8.4, "Investigation on land subsidence due to ground-water exploitation." in April 1975. This first WGLS was composed by:

Mr. Joseph F. Poland, Chairman. U.S. Geological Survey, USA. (Chair) Mr. Germán Figueroa Vega. Comisión de Aguas de Valle de México, México. Ms. Laura Carbognin. National Research Council, Italy Mr. Ivan Johnson. Representative of IAHS, USA. Mr. Soki Yamamoto. Rissho University, Japan. Currently, the WGLS comprises 20 subsidence experts from 12 countries (i.e. USA, Mexico, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Egypt, China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Pakistan) and a UNESCO–IHP representative. Of the 18 subsidence experts, 16 are members and 4 are observers.

Activities of the UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence Past, current and planned activities of the UNESCO–IHP WGLS are primarily focused on its mission to enhance scientific/technical knowledge exchange and promote/facilitate international exchange of information regarding natural and anthropogenic subsidence processes and the sustainable development of our natural resources in areas susceptible to subsidence. Some of the fairly recent past and current activities, beyond the regular efforts to convene the international subsidence symposia, consist on other networking, publishing, research and programmatic endeavors. Jointly with UNESCO IHP, IAHS as well as other scientific organizations, the UNESCO WGLS has organized nine International Symposia on Land Subsidence in different countries from Asia, Europe and North America.

Tokyo, Japan (1969) Anaheim, USA (1977) Venice, Italy (1986) Houston, USA (1991) The Hague, Netherlands (1995) Ravenna, Italy (2000) Shanghai, China (2005) Querétaro, México (2010) Nagoya, Japan (2015) The proceedings of the nine published symposia jointly with two companion books contain relevant references of land subsidence research and case studies that cover anthropogenic and natural land subsidence processes worldwide.

See also Subsidence Groundwater-related subsidence

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence

In research: UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Depressions (geology), Environmental issues with water, Geotechnical organizations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence in simple terms?

Why does UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on UNESCO Working Group on Land Subsidence.