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New York City’s Sinking Future: Skyscrapers and Subsidence

New York, one of the most economically and culturally relevant cities, is sinking due to its ‘own greatness’: the huge and heavy buildings and skyscrapers that give the ‘Big Apple’ its identity.

According to recent research conducted by the scientific magazine ‘Earth’s Future’, NY it is at risk of losing coast and suffering floods due to the subsidence it registers.

The ‘Big Apple’ is registering a subsidence of about 1 or 2 millimeters each year on average, although in some areas that rate is double. This subsidence is exacerbating the impact of sea level rise, which is accelerating at about twice the global average.

The water around New York it has risen about 9 inches since 1950, and major storm-induced flooding could be up to four times more frequent between now and the end of the century due to a combination of sea level rise and hurricanes passing through the state.


The skyscrapers weigh on New York

The sinking trend is magnified, in addition to the above, by the large number of large buildings that the city houses. The authors of the study estimate that the city’s buildings, including the iconic Empire State and Chrysler buildings, weigh a total of 1.68 trillion pounds, which is approximately equivalent to the weight of 140 million elephants. This enormous weight is pushing down a set of materials found in the subsoil of NY.

While many of the larger buildings are set on a solid rock surface, others are built on sandy and clayey areas, adding to the subsidence effect that is naturally occurring along much of the coastline anyway. eastern United States.

2023-05-20 02:12:00
#York #Big #Apple #sinks #skyscrapers

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