Abstract: Ground subsidence is one of the main geological hazards faced by coastal areas of China in the 21st Century. This paper concludes that the excessive and uncontrolled extraction of the groundwater as well as the high density skyscrapers are the main contribution factors to the ground subsidence, after both theoretical analysis and literature review. The potential adverse impact of the ground subsidence to the coastal areas as well as the development of the ground subsidence study is introduced in this paper. The ground subsidence mitigation measures, which is focused on the prevention and added by the engineering, are proposed. These measures include: improving the ground subsidence awareness, establishing the ground observation network, groundwater injection and controlled groundwater extraction.

Key words: Ground Subsidence, Coastal Areas, Groundwater, Mechanisms, Mitigation Measures