Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 66, núm. 3, 2014, p. 553-557 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2014v66n3a10

Short Note

Subsurface fire and subsidence at Valle del Potosí (Nuevo León, Mexico): Preliminary observations

Priyadarsi D. Roy^1,*, Axel Rivero-Navarrete², José Luis Sánchez-Zavala¹, Nayeli López-Balbiaux³

¹ Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, México D.F.
² Posgrado en Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, México D.F.
³ USAI, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, México D.F
^* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Since the last three decades, Valle del Potosí basin (western part of Nuevo León) has been experiencing subsurface fire and subsidence. Preliminary field observations relate the subsurface fire to smoldering of a peat layer at 200-280 cm depth. Subsidence was caused by the associated volume reduction as a result of peat burning. We hereby present the chemical composition of the peat layer and report about the possible reasons of subsurface fire and subsidence.

Keywords: subsurface fire; subsidence; smoldering; peat; Nuevo León.