New York City (NYC) is sinking under the weight of its infrastructure. The city is sinking at a rate of 1 to 4 millimeters per year, which is greater than the natural sinking rate that can occur in a city. This development is making flooding in the city so much worse.
Millions of buildings in the city may play a part in this, weighing an astonishing 1.68 trillion pounds.
Even though a sinking rate of 1 to 4 millimeters a year does not sound like a lot, the sinking rate will eventually cause a break in NYC.
In a new paper, scientists from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography found that some areas have significantly greater subsidence rates, which the massive weight of the buildings may cause.
The study was led by Tom Parsons of the U.S. Geological Survey with GSO Professors: Meng Wei and Steven D’Hondt and Ph.D. student: Pei-Chin Wu. They are a part of the growing body of research on how waterfront cities are facing not just rising waters, but sinking land.
The news that global sea levels are rising due to climate change is a threat that people all across the world have been hearing for years, especially those of coastal communities. The new research shows how man-made infrastructure can increase the vulnerabilities of the city. There are too many high rises near the waterfront for the city to handle.
The results indicate that in recent years, all of NYC is sinking about 1 to 2 millimeters per year due to post-glacial relaxation. However, some parts of the city, particularly where buildings are built on fill and sediment, are sinking faster, up to 4 millimeters per year.
While the massive weight of the buildings causes some of the subsidence, not all of the sinking rates can be directly attributed to the buildings.
According to the study, subsidence due to buildings usually stops within a year or two of construction. The continuation of subsidence past that time is largely due to other processes, such as the withdrawal of groundwater. In a city where sea level is projected to rise between 8 and 30 inches by 2050, the additional subsidence only increases its vulnerability to coastal storms.
The results show that NYC’s post-glacial relations are sinking 1 to 2 millimeters in recent years, while other parts of the city are sinking faster, up to 4 millimeters per year. While the weight of infrastructure is a big factor, it is not the only thing related to the sinking of the city.
In a study completed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “Much of the motion they observed occurred in areas where prior modifications to Earth’s surface – such as land reclamation and the construction of landfills – made the ground looser and more compressible beneath subsequent buildings.”
This NASA study shows people that buildings built on “trash” are less likely to withstand and are most susceptible to sinking.
For example, runway 13/31 at LaGuardia Airport is subsiding at about 3.7 millimeters a year. The airport is undergoing an $8 billion renovation to help the flooding from the rising sea levels of the Atlantic Ocean. Arthur Ashe Stadium is also sinking at a rate of about 4.6 millimeters. This required the renovation of their building and the renovations to reduce the weight of the building.
“Similar levels of subsidence were observed beneath Route 440 and Interstate 78 in suburban New Jersey, which traverse historic fill locations, and in Rikers Island, expanded to its present size by landfilling,” NASA said on their website.
The way that we are building our infrastructure is contributing to flooding. NYC is crumbling under its own weight.