It’s not just sea level rise threatening America’s cities—some of the ground itself is giving way. According to a new satellite-based study published May 8 in Nature Cities , every one of the 28 most populous U.S. cities is sinking to some degree, with many urban areas facing widespread land subsidence due to factors like groundwater depletion and oil and gas extraction. Cities affected include Chicago, Dallas, Columbus, Detroit, Fort Worth, Denver, New York, Indianapolis, Houston, and Charlotte…and more.
The worst offender? Houston. The Texas city is sinking faster than any other in the nation, with more than 40% of its urban area dropping over 5 millimeters per year—and 12% sinking at double that rate. In some localized spots, researchers found ground sinking by as much as two inches annually.
“This is the first high-resolution, satellite-based measurement of land subsidence across the 28 most populous U.S. cities,” lead author Leonard Ohenhen of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory told USA Today . “It offers critical information for urban planning, infrastructure adaptation, and hazard preparedness.”…