NYC is Slowly Sinking and One Spot is in Staten Island

Photo bySydney MooreonUnsplash

According to a study by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University, New York City is sinking overall at "a median rate" of 1.6 millimeters per year. But Midland Beach, Staten Island is sinking faster than that median rate.

The land migration in New York City was examined in the study between May 2016 and March 2023. The study's results showed the following New York City places had the highest annual subsidence rate, measured in millimeters:

1. In Queens, the Arthur Ashe Stadium, -4.6 ± 0.82.

2. LaGuardia Airport, QUEENS: -3.7 ± 0.8

3. Governor’s Island, Manhattan: -3.4 ± 0.8

4. Arverne by the Sea, Queens: -3.2 ± 0.9

5. Midland Beach, Staten Island: -2.8 ± 0.96.

6. Coney Island, Brooklyn: -2.6 ± 0.8

The gradual sinking of New York City is connected to the tremendous weight and number of buildings. One study, led by Tom Parsons of the U.S. Geological Survey with GSO professors Meng (Matt) Wei and Steven D’Hondt, and GSO Ph.D. student Pei-Chin Wu, focuses on how waterfront cities, such as New York, are facing not just rising waters, but sinking land.

“Coastal flooding results from sea level rise and sinking of the shore,” said D’Hondt. “So subsidence will lead directly to coastal flooding even in the absence of sea level rise. Where both processes are occurring, coastal inundation will happen much faster than predicted by sea level rise models.”