For years climate scientists have been stating their concerns over rising water levels, but something not many of us have considered is the possibility of some areas sinking. NASA has though, and the agency recently published a study highlighting some of the most dangerous consequences of the world we have created. The main warning to come out of this study is to California.
According to the study, some of the areas around the coast are sinking, and, since at the same time sea levels are rising, this phenomenon easily spells disaster for residents in those areas. The scientists there reached this conclusion after using highly developed satellite radar systems and examining the areas around the coast. And these are not novices, the study credits findings by scientists from both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The areas in California that NASA pinpointed as sinking
To little surprise, the experts found that one of the most affected areas is the San Francisco Bay Area (specifically San Rafael, Corte Madera, Foster City, and Bay Farm Island). Since this area is prone to earthquakes and rough winds and currents, sediment compaction is a weak point, and that makes it especially vulnerable to the effects of not just erosion, but other natural disasters. According to the study, this area is “subsiding at a steady rate of more than 0.4 inches (10 millimeters) per year due to sediment compaction.”
As Maven’s Notebook, lead author Marin Govorcin, a scientist at NASA’s JPL explains that “in many parts of the world, like the reclaimed ground beneath San Francisco, the land is moving down faster than the sea itself is going up.” This is not good news for residents in the area, who now face two challenges when it comes to shoring up their homes ad the land they sit in.
Not all news from the study are bad news, some areas studied in California are not sinking, some are in fact, rising. This might not be cause for celebration for long, but as of now, certain regions in the state like the Santa Barbara groundwater basin and Long Beach are presenting what the scientists are calling ground uplift. Since these areas are also close to the sea, this could mean that residents might be able to keep their properties above water for a bit longer, but the reason why this phenomenon is happening is not exactly heartwarming.
The areas in which elevation has been noticed correspond to a replenishing water basin and oil and gas extraction, which cause ground deformation or elevation.
The reasons for this are easy to track down. Many have denied for decades that humans have an impact on rising sea levels or the erosion of territories, but the reality is that, for decades, we have lived in a way that is not sustainable, and we have irreparably changed the earth’s landscape by depleting resources and not putting back what we take out. This has made some areas in danger or sinking, others in danger of flooding and many in danger of becoming deserts.
Some of the damage is irreversible but seeing the consequences closer and closer every year has made many attempt to curve the effects and encouraged others to take action against the way of living that has landed us in so much trouble. Whether or not California will sink remains to be seen, as technology has advanced enough that erosion damage can be reversed with a lot on engineering, but the take home message is the same, we cannot keep up our way of life and expect nothing to change.