New York City is sinking. The phenomenon, which has been observed in most urban settlements near the coast, is occurring more rapidly in the Big Apple as a result of the enormous weight of its buildings and the 8.4 million people who live there.
New York City is sinking right before our eyes! 🏙️
Tall buildings, urbanization, complex ground & #ClimateChange make the problem worse. As cities grow, sinking & flooding become bigger issues.@IFLScience delves further into the @EarthsFutureEiC study.https://t.co/te51ziRY0h
— Wiley in research (@wileyinresearch) May 18, 2023
New York sinks 2 mm per year
According to a study published in May in Earth's Future, New York's 64 trillion kilograms of building weight is causing the city to sink by a considerable amount, nearly 2 mm every year. Some parts of the city are sinking even more.
The authors of the report warned that "the accumulated pressure applied to the ground from large buildings contributes to subsidence not only from the initial primary settlement caused by soil compression and reduction of void space but also through potential secondary settlement caused by creep in clay-rich layers that may continue indefinitely."
Increased number and intensity of storms
Something that is, "of particular concern is the potential for continued long-term secondary settlement in densely built-up areas near the coasts."
This data shows that the risk of flooding will increase in the coming years due to the combination of the city sinking and rising sea levels. This flooding will be exacerbated by an increased number and intensity of storms that are forecasted to hit the Big Apple.
