A new study, published in the Earth’s Future journal, showed that New York is sinking, and the weight of its skyscrapers plays a part in it.
Furthermore, the study shows that the city is sinking at an average rate of about 1-2mm each year, with Lower Manhattan being affected the most, while Brooklyn and Queens follow.
The authors, including research leader and geophysicist at the US Geological Survey, Tom Parsons, highlighted that an accelerated problem along coastal and riverfront areas has been observed, which is caused by a variety of reasons, including tectonic and anthropogenic subsidence and sea level rise.
It is worth mentioning that New York City’s 1 million skyscrapers measure a total weight of 1.7 trillion pounds, while the water that flanks it has risen 22cm since 1950, while major storm-induced flooding frequency is expected to quadruple by the end of the century.
The publication states that the skyscrapers have been mostly founded upon areas of solid bedrock and soft soil mixtures of sands and clays and that ground compression will be larger for softer profiles. The authors said that that “It wasn’t a mistake to build such large buildings in New York, but we’ve just got to keep in mind every time you build something there you push down the ground a little bit more.”
Finally, Tom Parson claimed that “It’s not something to panic about immediately, but there’s this ongoing process that increases the risk of inundation from flooding”.
Sources: www.theguardian.com, eu.usatoday.com, www.ibtimes.com/
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