Which risk increases when extensive groundwater depletion weakens karst bedrock?

💡 Explanation

Sinkhole formation increases due to groundwater depletion causing decreased hydrostatic pressure; reduced support means overburden stress exceeds bedrock strength because mechanical weathering via dissolution accelerates. Therefore, sinkholes form, rather than geothermal changes which need subsurface heat.

• Which outcome results when increased freeze-thaw cycles affect granite formations?
• Which mechanism primarily causes an oxbow lake to eventually become a swamp?
• Which mechanism increases coastal erosion rates when a subducting plate causes uplift of the adjacent landmass?
• Which risk increases for communities protected by artificial levees constructed on a meandering river?
• Which habitat alteration occurs when earthworm introduction causes changed soil structure?
• Which risk increases when transverse dune migration accelerates?