In a recent study, researchers examined 99 coastal cities and found nearly all of them were rapidly sinking. The study showed development and groundwater depletion has been depressing the surface. In many of these coastal communities, subsiding land may create a compounding risk of flooding, adding to the rising sea levels due to global warming.
“Anywhere you are worried about sea level rise, you should also be worried about subsidence,” says study author Matt Wei, a University of Rhode Island associate professor of oceanography.
