Glaciers worldwide are projected to lose more than 40% of their mass by the end of the 21st century, according to NASA, and will contribute nine inches (2.5 meters) of sea-level rise by the same date.
Researchers using radar records assessed the susceptibility to subsidence hazards along the U.S. East Coast in a recent study.
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the risk of land subsidence in coastal communities, specifically in terms of the risks to people, property, and infrastructure/facilities, with a focus on major metropolitan areas such as New York, Baltimore and Norfolk.
Coastal communities are particularly prone to multi-hazard scenarios, which are exacerbated by land-subsidence, in large part due to the prevalence of multiple structures.
Climate change is likely to result in multi-hazard scenarios, which is why climate change risk mitigation is a top priority for experts.
The investigation showed that the land area ranges from 2,000 km2 to 74,000 km2, the population ranges from 1,2 to 14 million inhabitants, and several properties (from 476,000 to 6,3 million) have subsidence rates of 1 to 2 mm per year.
In addition, more than half of the infrastructure in major metropolitan areas (New York City, Baltimore, Norfolk) experiences the same level of subsidence.
According to a report in Newsweek, some parts of the Atlantic coast of the United States are sinking at an annual rate of 5 millimeters or 0.2 inches.
According to the study, a subsidence rate of 2”mm per year could impact up to 2.1m people, up to 867k properties (Median Exposure), and important infrastructure on the eastern seaboard.
The study’s lead author, a graduate student in Virginia Tech’s earth observation and innovation lab, said in a press release that ‘steady, uninterrupted subsidence along the East Coast of the United States should be cause for concern,’ according to Newsweek.
In order to carry out the study, the researchers used vertical land motion data collected from radar data sets. They found that the higher the subsidence rate, the lower the number of areas affected by these hazards.
RELATED STORIES
https://interestingengineering.com/science/us-atlantic-coast-sinking-5-millimeters
https://www.space.com/concerning-us-east-coast-sinking-new-york-city-climate-change
https://www.newsweek.com/us-cities-sinking-east-coast-threatening-critical-infrastructure-1857356
https://www.iflscience.com/us-east-coast-cities-are-sinking-faster-than-sea-levels-are-rising-72275
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