NYC is sinking...

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NYC is sinking...30-05-2023 03:27
HarveyH55★★★★★ (5197)	LINK Only quoting part of the article. The rest just goes into greater details, and some other cities. Bonus, rising sea levels do to climate-change, nonsense... As rising oceans threaten NYC, study documents another risk: The city is sinking By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — If rising oceans aren't worry enough, add this to the risks New York City faces: The metropolis is slowly sinking under the weight of its skyscrapers, homes, asphalt and humanity itself. New research estimates the city's landmass is sinking at an average rate of 1 to 2 millimeters per year, something referred to as "subsidence." That natural process happens everywhere as ground is compressed, but the study published this month in the journal Earth's Future sought to estimate how the massive weight of the city itself is hurrying things along. More than 1 million buildings are spread across the city's five boroughs. The research team calculated that all those structures add up to about 1.7 trillion tons (1.5 trillion metric tons) of concrete, metal and glass — about the mass of 4,700 Empire State buildings — pressing down on the Earth. The rate of compression varies throughout the city. Midtown Manhattan's skyscrapers are largely built on rock, which compresses very little, while some parts of Brooklyn, Queens and downtown Manhattan are on looser soil and sinking faster, the study revealed. While the process is slow, lead researcher Tom Parsons of the U.S. Geological Survey said parts of the city will eventually be under water. "It's inevitable. The ground is going down, and the water's coming up. At some point, those two levels will meet," said Parsons, whose job is to forecast hazardous events from earthquakes and tsunamis to incremental shifts of the ground below us. But no need to invest in life preservers just yet, Parsons assured. The study merely notes buildings themselves are contributing, albeit incrementally, to the shifting landscape, he said. Parsons and his team of researchers reached their conclusions using satellite imaging, data modeling and a lot of mathematical assumptions. The last line quote, pretty much summed up what was wrong with the study, "satellite imaging, data modeling and a lot of mathematical assumptions". Coupled with the rate of 1-2 millimeters per year... The margin-of-error has to be greater than 1-2 millimeters. I don't doubt there is some settling, and compression. It's expect for every new construction. What's missing is that cramming so much structure closely, cover ground with roads, parking lots, water doesn't sink in the ground, just flows around, or pools. Lot of big cities are using ground that was once meant for water management, for more construction. Relying on storm drains, to channel enough water out to sea, so there aren't flooding issues every time it rains. Not enough for major weather events that seldom happen. Insurance and disaster relief cover damage in those events, usually generous, always good for the local economy. Storm drains need to be maintained, and kept clear. Water takes the path of least resistance, which might not be as planned, or convenient.
30-05-2023 16:42
IBdaMann★★★★★ (14438)	HarveyH55 wrote:The margin-of-error has to be greater than 1-2 millimeters. ... and that is everything. Nothing else matters.

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