New York, New York, the city that never sleeps may be in trouble when it comes to staying afloat, literally. The buildings that make the city's skyline breathtaking are also causing it to sink further, along with the contributing factor of climate change.
The Famous City is Sinking
New York City is not called a concrete jungle for no reason. It has over a million buildings atop it and continues to gain more as time goes by. A study from research geophysicist Tom Parsons says that NYC is sinking from all the weight on the buildings.
A researcher from the US Geological Survey, Parsons stated that New York has seen a couple of major hurricane events with both Ida and Sandy. The heavy rainfall has subjected the city to inundation, which has been worsened by the effects of urbanization.
"We're a ways off from the ocean simply moving in," says the study author. At the time of the research, New York City had 1,084,954 buildings across five boroughs, as mentioned in CNN, which collectively weighed about 1.68 trillion pounds.
The researchers conducted simulations to determine the effects of the buildings' weight on the ground, factoring in satellite data that shows its actual surface geology. The results show that the city is submerged at the average rate of one to two millimeters a year.
Some areas have a higher rate of sinking at four and a half millimeters a year. The process is also hastened by the fact that the city's sea level has been rising two times faster than the global rate, which ranges between eight inches to 30 inches by 2050.
According to reports, areas like Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn are among the ones that are sinking faster than the average. At this rate, it could be the subsidence that causes the increase in flooding threat rather than the rising sea level.
However, the researchers also clarified that the subsidence is not solely due to the weight of the buildings. Some are due to constructions on soft soils and artificial fills. Others are due to glacial relaxation or groundwater pumping. There are also cases of sinking that cannot be explained.
New York City is not the only place that is threatened by subsidence. Cities both inland and coastal have shown signs of it that its city officials are alarmed and already plan to take action. Jakarta, for instance, plans to build a whole new city because of the threat.
Another City Sinking
Another famous city in the world is at threat of being swallowed by water as well. Studies show that Venice, known for its canals and gondolas, may be underwater by 2100 due to the continuous flooding and sinking of its buildings.
One of its worst floods submerged around 80% of the city underwater, resulting in damages that cost around €1 billion, according to BBC. The mentioned flood reached a peak of 6.1 ft above sea level, and it may continue to get worse due to climate change.
