The accelerated subsidence of New York means that in in the future, it risks being completely or partially flooded.
New York is gradually but surely going under water. Every year the soil under the metropolis drops by about 1.6 meters.
Space writes about this.
Brett Bazzanga, the lead scientist on the study, said the detailed mapping revealed patterns in the movement of the earth in New York that had not been seen before. Queens neighborhoods like LaGuardia Airport's Runway 13/31 and Arthur Ashe Stadium are sinking faster than the city average. And, apparently, the reason for this is a fundamental error in their placement. The fact is that these objects were built on landfills.
In addition, some areas of the city, on the contrary, are rising. For example, East Williamsburg in Brooklyn is experiencing an annual rise of 15.2 mm. Robert Kopp, one of the study's co-authors, said human activities such as groundwater pumping and injection wells could be to blame, but more research is needed to be sure.
The threat of sea level rise here is three to four times greater than the average along the Atlantic coast of North America, the study says. In the event of a flood, the 8.4 million residents of New York City, which is characterized by a high population density, face varying degrees of danger.
But even if there is no flooding in the coming years, the integrity of skyscrapers will be at risk: the long-term impact of the sea water leads to corrosion of reinforcement and weakening of concrete in foundations. Among the areas that are sinking faster than others are the most densely populated: Queens, Brooklyn and lower Manhattan.
The study authors do not give precise forecasts for when this will happen, but they say that other factors can accelerate flooding: extreme showers, hurricanes, which are occurring more and more often due to anthropogenic impact on the environment.
Previously, scientists said that the Earth has entered an era of “global boiling.” Read more about this in news.
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