The Evolution of the Hydrogeologic System in the Taipei Basin, Northern Taiwan

Taipei basin is the largest metropolitain area in Taiwan, and thus the change of its hydrogeologic system is closely associated with the economic development of the urban area. In this study, we integrated the core data and groundwater level data to construct the hydrogeologic framework of the Taipei basin. Then the long-term elevation data and groundwater data were analyzed to understand the impact of urban development on the hydrogeologic system. By analyzing the long-term change of groundwater level in the Taipei basin, we found two groups of wells with a different range of water level and pattern of water level variation. The first group of wells is relatively shallow. Their hydraulic heads fluctuated between 0 and 5m. Generally the water level is rarely affected by pumping, but sensitive to the rainfall. These wells were placed in sand layers of the Songshan formation. However, the second group of wells, where the hydraulic head ranges from -40m to 0m, is relatively deep. They were installed in the Jingmei formation and Wugu formation. Pumping activities have significantly influenced the change in groundwater level. For these reasons, we proposed two hydrogeologic units in the Taipei basin. One is the Songshan aquifer characterized by interbeded local aquifer and aquitard. The other is the Taipei aquifer which combines the lower Songshan formation, Jingmei formation, and Wugu formation. Extensive pumping from the Taipei aquifer has caused serious land subsidence since the rapid expansion of the urban area in 1950s. The cumulative amount of settlement in the Taipei basin is about 2.2 m by 1983. The subsidence appeared to be inelastic with little recovery. The groundwater level has declined approximately 50 m by 1976. The decline was followed by a rapid recovery in the Taipei aquifer starting from late 1970s. In the past two decades, however, small subsidence ranging from 3~5 cm have been induced by the extensive pumping during the construction of Metro system. The elevation of the land surface usually fully recovered shortly after a rapid natural recharge following the pumping. Thus, the uplift after the land subsidence became elastic rebound phenomenon. Therefore, the change in groundwater level of the Taipei Aquifer becomes the primary factor controlling the elevation of land surface.