Geologists Warn That New York City’s Skyscrapers Are Causing The Big Apple To Sink
Recent geological research conducted by scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Rhode Island has revealed a frightening fate for Manhattan. The city that never sleeps is also apparently sinking.
The Big Apple is currently home to over 1 million buildings, which weigh almost 1.7 trillion pounds. And the researchers warned that the weight of the Big Apple’s famous skyscrapers is pushing the city to sink into the surrounding water bodies.
Right now, New York City is sinking between one to two millimeters each year. But, some regions are reportedly “subsiding much faster.”
And while one to two millimeters of sinkage may not seem like a big deal, lead researcher Tom Parsons of USGS claimed that even this slow fall makes New York City especially vulnerable to more natural disasters.
“New York faces significant challenges from flood hazard; the threat of sea level rise is three to four times higher than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America,” the report explained.
“New York City is ranked third in the world in terms of future exposed assets to coastal flooding, and 90% of the 67,400 structures in the expanded post-Hurricane-Sandy flood risk areas have not been built to floodplain standards,” the report continued.
“A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City.”
The study revealed that Lower Manhattan is at particular risk. Additionally, there is also a concern for Queens and Brooklyn.
Hurricane Sandy was just over a decade ago; meanwhile, Hurricane Ida occurred in 2021. And during both weather emergencies, New York City witnessed harsh impacts.
mandritoiu – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Hurricane Sandy specifically pushed seawater into the city. Hurricane Ida, on the other hand, caused heavy rainfall that wound up overwhelming drainage systems.
So, as the threat of severe weather continues to rise, Parsons worries that the skyscrapers’ structural integrity may be at risk.
“The combination of tectonic and anthropogenic subsidence, sea level rise, and increasing hurricane intensity imply an accelerating problem along coastal and riverfront areas,” Parsons said.
“Repeated exposure of building foundations to salt water can corrode reinforcing steel and chemically weaken concrete, causing structural weakening.”
According to the report, greenhouse gas has also been reducing the East Coast’s natural wind shear barrier. And this could allow high-intensity hurricane events to occur more frequently as time goes on.
That’s why the research team hopes their report will raise awareness about the risks New York City is facing and spur action before it is too late.
“The point of the paper is to raise awareness that every additional high-rise building constructed at coastal, river, or lakefront settings could contribute to future flood risk and that mitigation strategies may need to be included,” the authors wrote.
To read the report’s complete findings, which have since been published in Earth’s Future, visit the link here.
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