Distribution and formation mechanism analysis of ground fissures in Shunyi County, Beijing

With the rapid development of Shunyi region in Beijing, China, the ground fissures maintained slow growth since 1980s under both the nature and human activity impaction. Ground fissures have caused serious damages to buildings, roads, and farmlands, threatening the safety of residences in study area. So based on the Global Positioning System, Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing techniques, the spatial distribution of ground fissures in the study area was investigated and the formation mechanism was analyzed to find out the relationship between ground fissures and its driving factors, such as geotectonic movement, groundwater withdrawal, differential land subsidence and urban sprawl. By using the Factor Analysis method, we educed the principal components which contribute the most to the ground fissures. The analysis results show that the drawdown of groundwater level, land subsidence and geotectonic movement are the major factors that lead to the cause of ground fissures. And under the impaction of the nature forces and human activities, the development of ground fissure in study area shows the tendency of strip-shaped extend.