Climate change: Some places in New York are sinking faster than expected It’s a well-known fact: New York City is sinking year after year. However, NASA scientists found that certain hot spots were getting bogged down much faster than the metropolitan region average.
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These locations include LaGuardia Airport, Arthur Ashe Stadium, which hosts the US Open, and Interstate 78. They are sinking an average of more than 2 millimeters per year, which is faster than the 1.6 mm recorded elsewhere in the city.
Arthur Ashe Stadium Getty Images via AFP
“If you are a resident of a coastal city, it is important that you understand what this vertical movement does and how it makes your neighborhood vulnerable to flooding,” illustrates Brett Buzzanga, author of the study and coastal geoscience specialist at NASA.
Ground movements contribute to exacerbating the impact of sea level rise. In 20 years, the water level has risen 4.4 mm per year in Manhattan. According to the study, the phenomenon was accelerated by the subsidence of the land.
Brett Buzzanga and his colleagues used satellites to assess different areas of the city. GPS data obtained by ground devices or aircraft made it possible to draw an accurate picture of the situation.
“We were able to highlight in great detail the differences that existed between regions and found places that were sinking faster,” Buzzanga said. We run the risk of having similar results in all coastal cities. »
Postglacial rebound
A place can sink for many reasons. In the case of New York, it may be related to the retreat of glaciers during the last ice age.
La Guardia Airport AFP
In fact, a sheet of ice covered all of New England almost 20,000 years ago. As it began to melt, the earth that was trapped underneath began to rise.
However, the rapid development of New York City has compressed the Earth’s mantle, forcing it to begin sinking again. Additionally, the elimination of water wells beneath the city helped speed up the process.
Several areas, including LaGuardia Airport and Arthur Ashe Stadium, have been landfills in the past, making the soil more fragile. Arthur Ashe Stadium was even renovated with a canvas roof to make it less heavy.
According to information from Washington Post
