- A recent US government study found that New York City is sinking at a rate of 1 to 2 mm per year.
- Italy’s “floating city” Venice is sinking at the same rate.
- The problem of land subsidence could get worse as the population of coastal cities continues to grow.
New York City, with its towering skyscrapers and endless construction, weighs so much that it is sinking at the same rate as perhaps the most famous rapidly submerged city, Venice, Italy.
More than eight million people call the Big Apple home, and a recent U.S. government report warned that not only New Yorkers but other residents of coastal cities around the world would see a wave of violent land subsidence, or a gradual sinking or subsidence. It warns that you are facing a wave. area of land.
And the problem is likely to get worse as populations and building densities continue to grow in coastal cities around the world, the researchers said.
The U.S. Geological Survey May report “The Weight of New York City: An Anthropogenic Land Subsidence May Contributefound that New York City is sinking 1-2mm per year as sea levels rise and hurricanes threaten the region.
The researchers calculated the mass of all buildings in New York and modeled the subsidence caused by the pressure they exert on the Earth. Also, while the city as a whole averages 1-2 mm, some parts of New York City sink even faster.
The threat of sea level rise in New York State is three to four times higher than the global average for the Atlantic coast, according to the study, and global sea levels are expected to rise by 200 to 600 millimeters by 2050.
New York’s subsidence of one to two millimeters per year has caused the east coast city to reach the same rate of sinking as Venice, Italy, a cluster of islands known as “floating cities.” According to Venice Linethe leading ferry operator in the northern Adriatic.
According to Venice Lines, government officials are building special seawalls to reduce the amount of water flooding Venice at high tide, but the constant intrusion of saltwater has already caused buildings in Venice to “collapse”. is said to give His ground floors of many apartments in the city have become uninhabitable due to ground subsidence, experts say. He suggested that the city could be completely submerged by 2100.
Other cities around the world, including some in the United States, are sinking at even more alarming rates.
“New York epitomizes the growth of coastal cities around the world where subsidence has been observed,” government researchers said in their study. “It means there is a common global challenge to mitigate the increasing risk of flooding.”
