Mass movement processes triggered by land subsidence in Iztapalapa, the eastern part of Mexico City

Abstract

Geological and structural conditions in the Basin of Mexico coupled with natural and anthropogenic factors, such as groundwater exploitation, provokes land subsidence and differential deformation. The study area is located in to the north of Iztapalapa, a municipality within Mexico City, in a site called "El Eden" with irregular topography. Where volcanic sequences overlie the lacustrine deposits of clays and silts and show displacements by the action of gravity. The displacement zone was delimited at the top of the slope by the formation of circular tensile fractures with stair -shaped geometries. At the base of the slope, compressive processes damaged housing, sidewalks and inclined light poles and trees. A NW-SE system of fractures was identified in which displacement velocities vary from a few millimeters to several centimeters per year. Which affects urban facilities. In this work a conceptual model of deformation is presented that integrates the geological and mechanical factors leading to landslide and land subsidence. A geophysical survey leads to evidence of how land subsidence processes increase the sliding slope.