Scientists have realized with certainty since Hurricane Sandy, which was recorded on October 29, 2012, that this giant city with unusual geographical features, where the island of Manhattan is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the East River and the Hudson River, is vulnerable to storms, floods and high coastal waves, which are climatic phenomena caused by climate change.
In an article published in the journal “Earth Future” in May, researchers tried to assess the effect of the cumulative mass of the city’s infrastructure on its subsidence, a phenomenon resulting from soil erosion and human activities. , according to AFP.
According to the calculations of geologists, the weight of buildings, towers and skyscrapers in New York is 762 million tons, which represents an extraordinary pressure on the ground.
This volume is equivalent to more than 75,000 times the size of the Eiffel Tower in the French capital, Paris.
Under this enormous pressure, the cultural and economic capital of the United States, which is home to 8.5 million inhabitants, is sinking at the rate of 1 to 2 millimeters per year.
The study indicated that subsidence in some neighborhoods where buildings were built on softer or artificial ground could be as high as 4.5 millimeters per year.
The study’s lead author, Tom Parson, confirmed that building fewer concrete, glass or steel towers will not change the existing reality, as reported by the French Agency.
Speaking to Agence France-Presse, Parson, an American geophysicist, said: “The main cause of the subsidence of New York and the East Coast is linked to the structure of the earth’s crust and cannot be stopped. “.
This subsidence should accelerate the effect of the rise in water levels caused by global warming and the melting of glaciers.
Sea-rise Level.com says New York’s sea level rise has risen 23 centimeters from 1950, while the municipality expects it to rise another 20 to 75 centimeters by the year 2050 and even reach 1.8 meters before the year 2100, in addition to an increase in the frequency of thunderstorms.
In view of all these facts, the fortification of 836 kilometers of New York coastline has become a priority for its authorities.
A massive $20 billion “climate change adaptation” plan has been launched alongside efforts to protect the city from rising waters.
New York authorities in lower Manhattan, between the East River and one of the freeways, are building a wall and dams, while increasing green space for a length of 4 km, as the level of the water has risen from hurricane Sandy over 10 years ago to 2.7 meters.
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