Which outcome increases vulnerability to sinkhole formation when excessive groundwater usage compacts aquifers beneath karst landscapes?

💡 Explanation

Reduced resistance to collapse follows from compaction, because effective stress increases with reduced pore pressure; therefore, overburden stresses previously resisted by buoyant support become concentrated, rather than being distributed by the hydrostatic forces from the water table.

• Which feedback occurs when wave refraction focuses energy?
• Which phenomenon results when upper-level divergence aloft exceeds surface convergence in an idealized Hadley cell?
• Which mechanism amplifies latitudinal temperature differences when Hadley cell boundaries fluctuate significantly?
• Which outcome occurs when acidic rainforest litter accumulates?
• Which outcome elevates earthquake risk due to lake impoundment?
• During prolonged droughts, which outcome disproportionately affects silty topsoil?