AGU has AZGS’ back!

 On July 1, the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) transferred from state government to the UA, resulting in substantial budget and personnel shortfalls. This week’s Eos, the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical Union, includes two articles describing legislative and stakeholder support for AZGS.

• “Advocates push to restore funding to the Arizona Geological Survey,” by Randy Showstack, notes that “Behind-the-scenes efforts are afoot to try to restore funding to the Arizona Geological Survey.”  State Senator Gail Griffin (R, District 25) and State Representative Bob Thorpe (R, District 6) , told Eos that they advocated renewed funding of AZGS and would work towards a line item in next year “stellar,” adding that the Survey’s budget “is not low-hanging fruit that I would go after.”
• “Earth Fissures may no longer get mapped in Arizona” addresses how reduced funding of AZGS threatens the active earth-fissure mapping program in Cochise, Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal Counties, where collectively 100s of miles of fissures have been identified Realtors, contractors, civil authorities, and the public draw direct benefits from AZGS maps showing the distribution of fissures in the four counties. Earth fissure maps are available online at AZGS’ Natural Hazards in Arizona interactive viewer.

Fissures result from basin subsidence due to overdrafts of groundwater. Over 180 miles of fissures have been confirmed in the four counties, with new fissures appearing in Cochise and Pinal Counties over the past year.