新研究：纽约市正在下沉！
New York City is sinking under the collective weight of all of its buildings, a new study has found.
“The average is about 1 to 2 millimeters a year, with some areas of greater subsidence that are up to about 4.5 millimeters a year,” said lead study author Tom Parsons, a research geophysicist at the US Geological Survey.
Some areas of lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens are among those that are sinking at a faster than average rate, according to the study.
A September 2022 study found that 44 of the 48 most populous coastal cities have areas that are sinking faster than sea levels are rising.
“New York City is among the most densely populated coastal areas in the world, with a large portion of its critical infrastructure constructed in low-lying coastal areas,” she said. “Understanding how and why the landscape is changing, and identifying areas most vulnerable to flooding is essential for making the right preparations to mitigate future sea level rise.”
如何阻止？
研究人员指出，陆地下沉在某种程度上是由自然因素造成，比如构造原因、冰川均衡调整等。然而，人类正在极大地加速这一进程。
一方面，这与城市化密切相关。随着城市发展，大量人口涌入，大规模基础设施的建设也在“压垮”这些城市。这些建筑的规模往往比想象中更大：2020年，人造物的质量有史以来首次超过全球活生物的质量。
另一方面，人类对地下水、石油和天然气的过度开采也在加剧地面下沉。各地情况的差异也使解决地面下沉问题成为一项艰巨挑战。
There is a wide range of reasons for why coastal cities are sinking, but the mass of human infrastructure pressing down on the land is playing a role. The scale of this infrastructure is vast: in 2020 the mass of human-made objects surpassed that of all living biomass.
Some level of this subsidence happens naturally. However, it can be greatly accelerated by humans – not only by the load of our buildings, but by our extraction of groundwater and our production of deep-lying oil and gas.
图源：盖蒂图片社
难道人类要眼睁睁地看着沿海城市被淹没吗？有什么办法阻止城市下沉？
对此，研究人员指出，一个显而易见的办法是停止建设，但这并不现实。因此，要求建筑工人在施工前检查地质，确保大型建筑物建在坚硬的基岩上，而不是建在松散的土壤和人工填充材料上，可能有助于减少下沉趋势。
One obvious approach, albeit one that comes with its own problems, is to stop building.
其次，加强地下水管理也将有所帮助。研究人员警告称，很多地区可能会大肆开采地下水，应对城市人口激增，因此寻找更可持续的方式来满足城市用水需求，并采取措施改善地下水管理迫在眉睫。
Another solution, at least for some places, is to slow the withdrawal of groundwater and extraction from underground aquifers.
此外，建造和维护包括防洪墙、海堤在内的防洪设施并加强疏散演习和预警系统，也是常见的应对方案。
研究人员还指出，通过减少碳排放阻止全球变暖，也能够减缓海平面上升，挽救城市的下沉。
However, the most common approach is a messy and imperfect programme of constructing and maintaining flood defences such as sea walls. These are combined with social measures like evacuation rehearsals and an early-warning system.
Finally, stopping climate change by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions would prevent or delay at least some melting of the polar ice caps, slowing sea level rise.
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