A recent American scientific study indicates that New York City is sinking a few millimeters each year due to the weight of its skyscrapers. Will the Big Apple (nickname of New York City) end up underwater?
Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have analyzed the soil structure of New York City and modeled the geology on a computer using satellite data.
A heavy city
The city is built on a pile of silt, sand, clay lakes and rocky outcrops. Soil density therefore varies from place to place. The scientists’ study, published in the journal Earth’s future, reveals that this geological structure is too weak to withstand the pressure exerted by the weight of buildings on the surface. The skyscrapers as a whole would weigh 764 million tons on their own. To be more precise, it would therefore be necessary to add the bridges, sidewalks, roads, railways and other human constructions which still weigh down the city. The conclusion of the scientists is clear: each new building built in New York accelerates the sinking of the city.
At what pace?
The extent of subsidence today is 1 to 2 millimeters per year on average. In some neighborhoods, like lower Manhattan, parts of Brooklyn and Queens, it’s even faster. While the ground in lower Manhattan is only a meter or two above sea level, this makes the city even more vulnerable to the effects of a sudden rise in water levels. She has already suffered it with the passage of hurricanes Sandy (2012) and Ida (2021) which had caused the death of several people.
Scientists publish widely on the problem of rising sea levels linked to climate change and the increase in the frequency of extreme climatic phenomena. The authorities of coastal cities can therefore no longer afford to neglect this threat.
Since 1950, the water has risen 22 cm around New York. The city, which must ensure the safety of its 8.4 million inhabitants, has launched a multi-year plan of more than 20 billion dollars for “climate resilience”. One of the components of this plan is precisely the erection of an anti-flood wall of more than ten kilometers.
Did you know ?
Nearly 35,000 French people live in New York today, mainly in the very chic Upper East Side, but also in Carroll Gardens. If you look carefully, you will even find a little corner called Little Paris!
Alexandre Thellier
current n°162 – May 24 2023
2023-05-24 07:00:00
#York #victim #weight
