Major cities on the US east coast are sinking

Published 07.01.2024 | By Йосиф

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Major cities on the US east coast are sinking

Images collected by multiple satellites showed major cities and towns along the US East Coast sinking. The new study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Land subsidence, as seen by these satellites, is dangerous because it can undermine the foundations of buildings, potentially leading to collapse. It can also cause damage to roads, as well as gas and water lines. Combined with rising sea levels caused by human-caused climate change, subsidence of coastal regions can increase the risk of flooding and worsen subsequent damage.

Particularly hard-hit areas include New York City, Long Island, Baltimore, Virginia Beach and Norfolk, which are seeing areas of rapid subsidence next to regions of slower subsidence and even stable landmasses. This poses a risk to infrastructure such as roads, building foundations, pipelines, railway lines and even airport runways.

A new study from Virginia Tech and the US Geological Survey (USGS) shows that parts of the US East Coast are sinking at a rate of 5 millimeters per year.

“Continued total subsidence along the east coast of the United States should be a cause for concern,” said study lead author Leonard Ohenhen of Virginia Tech’s Earth Institute. “This is especially true in areas with high population and property density and a historical complacency regarding infrastructure maintenance.”

Working with Virginia Tech’s Earth Observation and Innovation Laboratory assistant professor Manouchehr Shirzai Ohenhen and his colleagues collected massive amounts of data from space-based radar satellites to create digital maps of the area.

They then measured millions of land subsidence events over many years, and then created some of the world’s first high-resolution images of sinking land.

The team’s maps showed that a large number of areas on the US east coast are sinking at least 2 mm per year. In addition, scientists have discovered areas along the mid-Atlantic coast covering more than 3,600 square kilometers that are sinking by 5 mm per year or more. The current rate of sea level rise is about 4 mm per year.

“We measured a subsidence rate of 2 millimeters per year, affecting more than 2 million people and 800,000 properties on the east coast,” Shirzai said. “To some extent we know that the earth is sinking. Through this study, we emphasize that land flooding is not an immaterial threat. It affects you, me and everyone, it may be gradual, but the consequences are real.”

Ohenhen noted that the problem with the mapped subsidence is not only that the land is sinking, but that subsidence hot spots are occurring in populated areas and around clusters of infrastructure.

“For example, large swathes of critical infrastructure in New York City, including JFK and LaGuardia airports and their runways, as well as rail systems, are suffering from subsidence rates exceeding 2 mm per year,” he added. “The consequences of this now and in the future are potential damage to infrastructure and increased risk of flooding.”

“This information is necessary. No one else provides it,” said study co-author Patrick Barnard of the US Geological Survey. “Shirzai and his team at Virginia Tech have filled this niche with their technical expertise and are offering something extremely valuable.”

https://nashaplaneta.su/blog/krupnye_goroda_na_vostochnom_poberezhe_ssha_tonut/2024-01-06-53771