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As New York City sinks under its own weight, some hotspots are sinking faster than others, including LaGuardia Airport, Arthur Ashe Stadium, and Coney Island, according to a new NASA report.
Researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Rutgers University have identified several key locations within the five boroughs that are sinking faster than the average 1.6 millimeters per year experienced by the rest of New York City.
LaGuardia’s runway and Arthur Ashe Stadium, home of the U.S. Open, both caved in the fastest from 2016 to 2023, sinking at 3.7 millimeters and 4.6 millimeters per year, respectively. The researchers published Wednesday in Science Advances.
Scientists have warned that while cities may appear to be sinking slowly, the effects of rising sea levels could be disastrous during powerful storms like Sandy.
“Protecting coastal populations and assets from coastal flooding is an ongoing challenge for New York City,” the researchers wrote. “The combined effects of natural sea level fluctuations and destructive storms are exacerbated by ongoing sea level rise.”
The study, by LaGuardia and Arthur Ashe, also found that Interstate 78, which runs through the Holland Tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey, is also sinking at nearly twice the rate of other parts of the city. There was found.
The same was true for Highway 440, which connects Staten Island to the Garden State.
Other areas that are sinking faster include Coney Island, the southern half of Governors Island, Midland and South Beach on Staten Island, and Urbane-by-the-Sea, a coastal neighborhood in southern Queens.
The researchers also noted that the two areas that are sinking the fastest, LaGuardia and Arthur Ashe, are both built on former landfills, which could explain their rapid subsidence. did.
Brett Buzan, lead author of the report, hopes the data will help city officials plan to deal with future flooding if a storm as powerful as Sandy strikes again. He said that
“If the sea level is higher and the land is lower, more damage can occur.” Buzanga told the Washington Post.. “It just kind of exacerbates the background conditions that these storms operate on. There’s more water flying around.”
The study builds on a U.S. Geological Survey report earlier this year that found the Big Apple, with more than 1 million buildings weighing nearly 1.7 trillion pounds, is slowly buckling under its own weight. ing.
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