The sinking of Mexico City: Its effects on soil properties and seismic response

Extensive pumping to extract water from Mexico City's subsoil has caused regional sinking. Water pumping produces regional consolidation which increases effective stresses acting on the subsoil modifying its static and dynamic properties. As the soil properties change, so does their dynamic response. Approximate expressions to estimate the future changes in soil properties are proposed. Also, this paper puts forth new evidence to illustrate these changes and presents estimates of future settlements in central Mexico City, using a soil consolidation model that overcomes some of the limitations of Terzaghi's theory. Results of an analysis to estimate the effects of the evolution of the subsoil's dynamic properties are illustrated by means of seismic analyses performed on a couple of sites in an old lake bed in Mexico City.