NASA Report Claims New York City's Hotspots Sinking Faster Than Others?

In New York City, NASA has identified a number of "hotspots" that are sinking more quickly than the total metropolitan area.

The city is sinking at an average rate of 0.06 inches per year. Still, according to researchers, some places, including the runway at LaGuardia Airport and Arthur Ashe Stadium, are plunging more than twice as quickly. Other hotspots include the Holland Tunnel, Interstate 78, Coney Island in Brooklyn, and Arverne in Queens, all constructed using artificial fill.

What Does The Research Say?

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The US Open venue, Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the runways at LaGuardia airport had the highest sinking from 2016 to 2023, falling at 3.7 and 4.6 mm per year, respectively.

These two places may have sunk the fastest since they were both built on former landfills.

Furthermore, rising sea levels are increasing the threat posed by the city's sinking. In addition to other issues, the city has experienced coastal flooding due to hurricanes and extratropical storms.

One of the examples is the city's devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Here Is What Researchers Wrote

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Protecting coastal communities and assets against coastal flooding is a constant concern for New York City.

According to the researchers report, continued sea level rise is further exacerbating the combined effects of catastrophic storms and natural sea level oscillations.

What Has NASA Added To This Scenario?

In addition, according to NASA data, Interstate 78, which runs through the Holland Tunnel connecting Manhattan and New Jersey, is also sinking at a rate that is almost two times as fast as the rest of the city.

Additionally sinking more quickly are the southern half of Governors Island, Midland and South Beach in Staten Island, and Arverne by the Sea, a coastal area in southern Queens.

When Was The Report Published?

The United States Geological Survey earlier this year found that the weight of the more than 1 million structures in the New York metropolitan area, which totals close to 1.7 trillion pounds, was causing the city to collapse under its weight slowly.

This led to the issuance of the report. According to the research, the city was subsiding at a rate of 1-2 millilitres annually.

By comparing the geology underlying the city with satellite images showing its footprint, the researchers could determine the answer. The threat of sea level rise is 3 to 4 times greater than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America, and New York faces severe challenges as a result.

Credit: The Washington Post

"Inundation poses varying degrees of risk to New York City's 8.4 million densely populated residents," lead researcher and geologist Tom Parsons of the United States Geological Survey stated in the paper in May.

According to the research team's calculations, New York City's more than 1 million buildings collectively weigh 1.68 trillion pounds, or 764,000,000,000 kilograms.

They created a grid of 100 by 100-metre squares to represent the metropolis, and by accounting for gravity's pull, they transformed building mass into downward pressure. The experts previously cautioned that increased urbanisation, including groundwater pumping and drainage, will further exacerbate New York's sinking issue.

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