Joseph Fairfield Poland (1908–1991) was the founding expert in the hydrogeologic field of land subsidence.[1] He committed 50 years of his life to understanding and bringing awareness to the issue.[1] Land subsidence results from over pumping groundwater that leads to compaction of unconsolidated aquifer systems and is the leading cause of land subsidence.[2] He pioneered invaluable research on the subject throughout his career at United States Geological Survey (USGS). [3]