Land Level Rises - What is the Cause?
A correspondent sent me THIS LINK. It is based on THIS ACADEMIC PAPER. The reason for the papers is the measured rise in land level in South Africa. The rise is not much - 6mm in the period 2012 to 2021. The rise could be measured because of the extensive GPS network in the country.
But what is the cause of the rise? For several years the reason was thought to be the mantle plume beneath the region. But the research described in the papers suggests that the real cause is drought! If you think of the soil as a sponge, taking the water out will cause the sponge to expand. Therefore land level rises.
All very interesting but the research suggests that the GPS system can be used as a means of measuring the severity of drought and planning to mitigate the consequences of predicted water shortages.