28 American Cities Are Literally Sinking Into the Earth
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Major U.S. cities are experiencing some degree of subsidence, a.k.a. sinking.
It's not just major coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Houston; landlocked cities like Las Vegas, Denver, Nashville, and more are showing signs of sinking.
Causes range from groundwater extraction to plate tectonics.
It's a well-known fact that sea levels around the world are slowly rising. According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sea levels have risen some eight to nine inches around the world since 1880, and show no sign of stopping. That's concerning enough on its own, considering that 40 percent of the U.S.'s population lives near coastlines. But American cities—along with cities around the world—are facing yet another problem that's only exacerbating this concerning side effect of climate change: They're sinking.
In a new study led by scientists at Virginia Tech, a research team tracked the subsidence (a.k.a. sinking) rate of 28 major U.S. cities across the country and found that at least 20 percent of the urban area of all of the cities was sinking to some degree. In 25 of those 28 cities, more than 65 percent of the land area was sinking to varying degrees. The most extreme example is Houston, Texas, where scientists discovered that some areas of the city were sinking as much as 10 millimeters per year. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Cities.
Obviously, the image of cities slowly sinking paints a picture of places like Houston, New York, and L.A. simply slipping into the sea. But the implications of this higher-than-expected subsidence rate comes with a much more complex list of nearer-term practical problems for both city planners and average homeowners.
'Even slight downward shifts in land can significantly compromise the structural integrity of buildings, roads, bridges, and railways over time,' Leonard Ohenhen, a former Virginia Tech graduate student and the lead author of the study, said in a press statement.
The cause of the sinking varies from city to city. The leading cause of subsidence is groundwater extraction, which eventually leads to compaction of soil and sediments and—you guessed it—the net result of slowly sinking land. However, other causes can also be pretty impactful. Some parts of the country, for example, are still experiencing the extraordinary see-sawing of bedrock caused by the retreat of glaciers during the tail of the Pleistocene epoch. Meanwhile, out West in cities like Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, plate tectonics can claim some of the blame.
'Sustained groundwater extraction lowers pore pressure in aquifer systems, leading to compaction of fine-grained sediments, which results in land subsidence that can be detected from satellites,' Susanna Werth, a co-author of the study from Virginia Tech, said in a press statement. 'Such land subsidence has been observed across the U.S. for many decades, but its increasing relevance in urban areas is especially hazardous.'
Ohenhen and his team are part of that observational history. Just last year, they published a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences about the rapid subsidence of cities along the East Coast. However, this new study shows that not only is the phenomenon more widespread than originally understood, it's also not contained to coastal cities. Las Vegas, Denver, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Indianapolis, and many landlocked metropolitan areas also show signs of sinking.
While this study only focused on the contiguous United States, the country's two most far-flung states—Alaska and Hawai'i—are also struggling with increased subsidence. For Alaska, the main culprit is permafrost degradation. And regarding Hawai'i, a study published earlier this year showed that some areas of O'ahu are sinking as much as 25 millimeters per year due to some industrial sectors having been built atop artificial fill.
None of this means that the U.S. is about to become some legendary, water-filled Atlantis. But understanding the rate at which cities are sinking—and the rate at which sea levels are rising—can help city planners, water resource managers, and average homeowners prepare for the slowly sinking future ahead of us.
You Might Also Like
The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape
The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere
Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
13 minutes ago
- Axios
Venture capital firm seeks to offset some Trump research cuts
Many venture capitalists are alarmed by the Trump administration's cuts to academic research, at Harvard and beyond, given that such funding has helped forge such foundational technologies as the internet and gene editing. Lux Capital wants to help fill the void. Driving the news: Lux, whose portfolio includes Anduril and Databricks, last month carved $100 million out of existing funds to back stranded scientists. It refers to the effort as a "helpline" for researchers at a crossroads, including those who haven't viewed themselves as entrepreneurs or who feel their work is too early for commercialization. In some cases this could mean forming and funding a de novo startup. In others, it could mean having an existing Lux portfolio company sponsor, license, or acquire ongoing research. What they're saying:"You look at so many of our publicly traded companies that come from academically-derived science, from Genentech ... to Google," explained Lux co-founder Josh Wolfe, during an on-stage conversation in New York City at the Axios AI+ Summit. "It's absolutely critical — probably 10 or 15% of our portfolio are things totally derived from university research." "The sort of sledgehammer approach as opposed to a surgical approval is hurting American science ... [and] national security," he adds. Behind the scenes: Lux's endeavor began when its partners began getting inundated with calls for advice from friends and peers. Eventually, a decision was made to take it national. Look ahead: The big question now is if other VC firms will do something similar, either in partnership with Lux or on their own. Particularly the small cohort of investors who have cheered the cuts on social media, saying private industry can make up the difference. At the very least, they could put their money where their mouths are.
Fox News
26 minutes ago
- Fox News
Chinese bioweapon smuggling case shows US 'trains our enemies,' 'learned nothing' from COVID: security expert
In response to the Department of Justice charging two Chinese nationals – including a University of Michigan research fellow – with allegedly smuggling a potential "agroterrorism" weapon into the U.S., national security experts tell Fox News Digital that the Trump administration must continue to take action to prevent American colleges and companies from "essentially educating and arming our chief adversary in the world." "In some cases, it seems like we learned nothing from COVID," Christian Whiton, a former senior foreign policy advisor in the Bush and Trump administrations, told Fox News Digital. "We allow direct flights now from China to the U.S. mainland. Again, that is crazy. And the whole fact that we are allowing researchers, even in the realm of dealing with pathogens to have access anywhere in the United States, much less the universities, is pretty insane. It seems like a pre-COVID mindset." The two Chinese nationals were charged Tuesday with smuggling Fusarium graminearum fungus, a dangerous biological pathogen and "known agroterrorism agent" responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year, through Detroit's airport. The noxious substance causes "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, according to federal prosecutors. In humans and livestock, exposure to its toxins causes vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects. "It's a new take on Chinese espionage and sabotage of the US economy. But it's not a surprise. I think that China has failed to pull back on any of its aggressive activity. And this is something that the Trump administration probably wants to take into consideration," Whiton said of the case. "I think it's both the government and our universities have let down the American people." Whiton told Fox News Digital that Chinese infiltration of U.S. institutions has been happening since at least the 1990s – when Chinese spies stole American nuclear secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico – and since then, "there's been this systemic desire to put Chinese nationals into especially these technical areas, technical universities." Whiton said Beijing does not consider only Chinese citizens as its agents, as "anyone of Chinese ethnicity" have been viewed as "fair game" to be recruited. He categorized the H1-B visa program as essentially a "scam," asserting that about a quarter are awarded to Chinese nationals who "end up at some of our high-tech companies." Traditionally, Whiton explained, Republicans have believed universities should run themselves without political interference, but doing so has allowed such institutions to be taken over by left-wingers. "Taxpayers are funding these things and shouldn't be forced to fund things that are anathema to their beliefs and what they know to be true. Things like we shouldn't train our enemies at taxpayer expense," Whiton said. "So, I think it goes along with Republicans being pretty wimpy in the past, but only more recently with the emergence of the new right and the MAGA movement finally taking a tougher stand on some of these left-wing universities." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the United States does not want to de-couple with China, though Beijing has a choice whether to be a reliable partner. "The reality is China is kind of doing what it has always done," Whiton said. "So if we're looking for a change of Chinese conduct because of President Trump being in office, it just hasn't happened yet. So I can't say that's a surprise." Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Trump administration would "aggressively" revoke the student visas for Chinese nationals, "including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields." After a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which the White House said focused mostly on trade, President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that Chinese students were still coming and the U.S. would be "honored" to have them. Yet, the president said the students need to be properly "checked" and the administration wants lists of Chinese nationals admitted to schools, such as Harvard and Columbia, so that vetting can occur. "That's a step in the right direction," Whiton said. "But in reality, we probably need to recognize these are our chief economic and security adversary in the world and take those visa numbers down closer to zero and start sending these people home." Whiton said there is a "faulty assumption" that Chinese students would come to the United States, learn about American culture and bring an appreciation back home to China. "In reality, they sort of come over here, they're in a bubble, they pick up technical skills, and then they go back to China and put them to use for either the military directly or for corporations that are either utilized by the Chinese military or that are trying to undermine U.S. technology companies," Whiton said. "We really are essentially educating and arming our chief adversary in the world." Former Rep. Michelle Steel, a California Republican who served on the House foreign and intelligence committees, told Fox News Digital that Chinese students educated in the U.S. essentially return home without an appreciation for America. "After they study here, they took all of our brains here, and they took everything back to their country, and they are using to attack United States. And they hate United States after that education. Guess what we are teaching in the universities? Not love United States!" Steel, who was born in Korea and grew up in Japan, told Fox News Digital. "They are studying some very sensitive things in our universities. We really had to vet them well." In her eyes, U.S. universities have prioritized bringing in international students for economic gain. "Because of all the money," she said. "They try to build their endowments, and they want to just show how big their research center is." She cited the case against former Chair of Harvard University's Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department, Dr. Charles Lieber, who was convicted in 2023 of lying to federal authorities about his affiliation with the People's Republic of China's Thousand Talents Program and the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in Wuhan, China. Federal prosecutors said Lieber had been paid $1.5 million by the CCP and failed to report additional income of $50,000 payments per month from the WUT. "It's not just at University of Michigan, but it's just everywhere," Steel said. "We cannot bring everybody in to these universities and studying together and helping to build CCP's military. That's just totally no-no, because you know what they're doing in the Pacific areas and African countries and South American countries. And they're just expanding everywhere. And we are the only one [who] can stop [it]. And I think President Trump is doing great job." The former congresswoman pointed to how the House Select Committee on the CCP in 2023 uncovered a $220 million payment made by the Chinese government to the University of California at Berkeley to help build a massive, joint institute in China – funding which UC Berkeley failed to disclose under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act. She has advocated for legislation that would decrease the reporting requirement from $250,000 to $50,000. Steel also noted that Stanford University – located in the heart of Silicon Valley in California – has a relationship with China's Peking University, which in turn has ties to the Chinese military and "goes straight into the nuclear program." The current chair of the House Select Committee on the CCP, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., penned a letter to Stanford in March over concerns about U.S. universities "admitting large numbers of Chinese nationals into advanced STEM programs, potentially at the expense of qualified Americans."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Eating this popular fruit daily may support postmenopausal heart and metabolic health
Eating fresh mango every day may help to boost women's postmenopausal heart and metabolic health, researchers said Tuesday. They found that eating about 1.5 cups of the sweet fruit a day for two weeks significantly reduced blood pressure and cholesterol among postmenopausal women living with obesity. Both blood pressure and cholesterol are key indicators of heart health. 'Risk factors like high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol are key contributors to cardiovascular disease, but a nutrient-rich diet that includes fresh fruit, like mango, has long been shown to help reduce those risks,' Dr. Roberta Holt, an associate researcher at UC Davis, said in a statement. 'This study shows that even short-term changes — like eating fresh mangos daily — can make a measurable impact on chronic disease risk in certain populations.' Holt was a co-author of the research which was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Nutrition Association. The study was supported through an unrestricted grant from the National Mango Board, although the board had no influence over the study. To reach these conclusions, they examined the health of 24 women between the ages of 50 to 70 years old who were overweight or obese. Before the study period, the authors instructed them to refrain from eating mangos. Over two weeks, the researchers collected baseline measurements, measurements when consumption began during a second visit to their lab, and then more measurements at the third visit. The women ate mangos in the mornings and the evenings. Two hours after consumption, their resting blood pressure dropped and there was a reduction in average arterial pressure. After consuming mangos every day for two weeks, their total cholesterol was slashed by nearly 13 points and their bad cholesterol dropped by the same amount. A smaller follow-up with just six participants from the initial study examined insulin and sugar levels after eating the same amount of mango with 83 grams of white bread. The researchers found the women's blood sugar levels rose significantly less after eating mango than after eating white bread. Insulin levels also responded more favorably to mango. Although mangos are high in natural sugar compared to other fruits, they also provide crucial vitamins and other nutrients. Additional research is needed to determine the effects of mango consumption of heart and metabolic health, but the benefits could aid the 1.3 million U.S. women undergoing menopause: a period when the risk of heart disease rises significantly. Women spend up to 40 percent of their lives in this life stage, and nearly half of American women are affected by cardiovascular disease. 'Post-menopausal women face distinct metabolic changes that can impact their risk of developing cardiovascular disease,' said Holt. 'These findings help to identify targeted dietary strategies, like eating fresh mangos daily, to aid this at-risk population and support cardiovascular wellness and potential reductions in chronic disease risk.'
