Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
2022
Department
Oceanography
Abstract
We measured subsidence rates in 99 coastal cities around the world between 2015 and 2020 using the PS Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar method and Sentinel-1 data. In most cities, part of the land is subsiding faster than sea level is rising. If subsidence continues at present rates, these cities will be challenged by flooding much sooner than projected by sea level rise models. The most rapid subsidence is occurring in South, Southeast, and East Asia. However, rapid subsidence is also happening in North America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. Human activity—primarily groundwater extraction—is likely the main cause of this subsidence. Expanded monitoring and policy interventions are required to reduce subsidence rates and minimize their consequences.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Geophysical Research Letters'
Volume
49
Issue
7
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Wu, P.-C., Wei, M., & D'Hondt, S. (2022). Subsidence in Coastal Cities Throughout the World Observed by InSAR. Geophysical Research Letters', 49(7), e2022GL098477. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098477
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098477
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.