According to a study, a large portion of the US East Coast is sinking at a rate of 2 millimeters per year or more. Some areas along the Mid-Atlantic coast are sinking at a rate of more than 5 millimeters per year, which is faster than the global sea-level rise of about 4 millimeters per year.

The study used data from a highly sensitive satellite that fired radar signals at the Earth, then analyzed what bounced back to determine coastal deformation. The research team used the data to build digital terrain maps that show where sinking landscapes present risks to infrastructure

Satellite measurements from the study show that on top of the 74,000 square kilometers (29,000 square miles) of the Atlantic Coast losing 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) a year, over 3,700 square kilometers along the Atlantic Coast are losing more than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) a year

The study reveals that a large portion of the U.S. East Coast is sinking at a rate of 2 mm per year or more, with specific areas along the Mid-Atlantic coast subsiding at an alarming rate exceeding 5 mm per year. This rate surpasses the global sea-level rise, measured at approximately 4 mm per year

The problem is not just that the land is sinking. The problem is that the hotspots of sinking land intersect directly with population and infrastructure hubs,” according to a statement from lead author Leonard Ohenhen, a graduate student working with associate professor Manoochehr Shirzaei at Virginia Tech’s Earth Observation and Innovation Lab

With the sea level rising 10 to 14 inches in the next three decades along the East Coast, this makes for what seems to be an inescapable situation.

But “it’s not just about sea levels,” Ohenhen said. “You also have potential to disrupt the topography of the land, for example, so you have areas that can get full of flooding when it rains

Satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) is a technique that can measure millimeter-scale movement of the ground from space. It does this by comparing the return echoes, and thus the signal-path length, from two or more radar images taken over the same place, over time

InSAR is the most often used technique to monitor crustal deformation, subsidence and landslides. It can be used in all weather conditions at high spatial resolution. 

SAR instruments bounce radio signals off of the ground and measure the reflections to determine the distance between the ground and the satellite. By comparing SAR images from different days, scientists can determine how much the land surface and human-built structures have shifted. 

Digital terrain maps can be created using several techniques, including LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). LiDAR is a remote sensing method that uses lasers to measure the distance between the sensor and the ground.

According to WorldAtlas, the East Coast could experience 14 inches of sea level rise by 2050. Some solutions to the sinking East Coast include: 

• Flood barriers Levees, dikes, and seawalls can protect critical infrastructure. Floodproofing involves elevating critical equipment or placing it within waterproof containers or foundation systems. 
• Coastal protection Build shoreline protection structures such as seawalls, groins, and breakwaters to reduce the impact of waves and storm surges. 
• Beaches and dunes Beaches and dunes can act as a natural wall and reduce the impact of storm surge. Towns can add sand to make beaches bigger or to prevent them from eroding. 
• Slowing land sinkage Towns can slow down land sinkage by limiting further groundwater pumping and initiating pilot projects to reverse land sinkage. 
• Artificial recharge Artificial recharge involves injecting water into depleted aquifers to replenish them, thus reducing the need for excessive pumping and preventing further subsidence. 

Some other tips to reverse the rise of sea levels include: 

• Reducing your footprint 
• Obeying “no-wake” zones

In their paper, “Slowly but surely: Exposure of communities and infrastructure to subsidence on the US east coast,” scientists from Virginia Tech and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured how much the land along the East Coast has sunk. They also evaluated the subsidence-hazard exposure to population, assets, and infrastructure systems/facilities along the US east coast

The study found that subsidence rates of 2 mm per year affects a maximum of 2.1 million people, 867,000 properties, and significant infrastructure on the East Coast. The study also found that 2,000 to 74,000 km2 land area, 1.2 to 14 million people, 476,000 to 6.3 million properties, and >50% of infrastructures in major cities such as New York, Baltimore, and Norfolk are exposed to subsidence rates between 1 and 2 mm per year. 

Subsidence is the sinking of the Earth’s surface in response to geologic or man-induced causes. The effects of subsidence rates exceeding 2 mm per year include potential damage to infrastructure and increased flood risks.

In their paper, “Slowly but surely: Exposure of communities and infrastructure to subsidence on the US east coast,” the team wrote that they evaluated the subsidence-hazard exposure to population, assets, and infrastructure systems/facilities along the US east coast: “Here, we show that 2,000 to 74,000?square km land …

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