NYC is sinking under the weight of its buildings: geologists

[Kamaji]

NYC is sinking under the weight of its buildings: geologists

By Alex Mitchell
May 17, 2023

The city that never sinks?

New geological research warns that the weight of New York City’s skyscrapers are actually causing the Big Apple — whose more than 1 million buildings weigh 1.7 trillion pounds — to sink lower into its surrounding bodies of water.

The city is plopping closer to the water at a rate of one to two millimeters a year “with some areas subsiding much faster.”

While that may not seem significant to untrained eyes, the gradual depreciation makes NYC extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, according to lead researcher and geologist Tom Parsons of the United States Geological Survey.

Lower Manhattan is particularly at risk and there is concern for both Brooklyn and Queens as well, according to the study.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/05/17/nyc-is-sinking-under-the-weight-of-its-buildings-geologists/

[Kamaji]

I wonder if that's limited to areas where the buildings predominantly do not reach bedrock, or if the bedrock-based areas are sinking as well?  To my understanding, most of the tall skyscrapers have foundation piers that reach down to bedrock, which should mean that they are generally not subject to sinkage, unless the underlying bedrock is sinking as well.

[bigheadfred]

NYC is going to sink under the weight of its own stupidity far faster than under the weight of the buildings.

[Smokin Joe]

So it isn't climate change after all...

The water isn't getting higher, New York is getting lower.

[Kamaji]

Interesting history on the whys and wheres of Manhattan skyscraper building and, in particular, debunking the theory that skyscrapers were predominantly built only where the bedrock was close to the surface:  https://buildingtheskyline.org/bedrock-and-midtown-i/

That being said, the skyscrapers in Manhattan are built down to the bedrock, however deep that may be.

[LMAO]

NYC is going to sink under the weight of its own stupidity far faster than under the weight of the buildings.

Yup

And were seeing that sinking accelerating

[Kamaji]

NYC is going to sink under the weight of its own stupidity far faster than under the weight of the buildings.

Metaphorically speaking, once it hits David Dinkins level bedrock, it will most likely start to rise again; trouble is, we're still pretty far off from David Dinkins bedrock.

[PeteS in CA]

The ground not being able to sustain a heavy building goes back at least to the famous tower in Pisa. On the other side of the US, SF’s Millennium Tower is also sinking. Whether due to improper geological survey and foundation or a corrupted approval process, I’m not sure.