Scientists issue dire warning as iconic American city sinks into the sea: 'The speed is more than enough to put human life ... at risk'

One of America's most critical urban hubs is sinking into the sea, the New York Post reported, citing a "scary" study led by NASA.

What's happening?

In January, a NASA-led study was published in the peer-reviewed American Association for the Advancement of Science journal Science Advances.

Los Angeles, like New York City, is central in part because it's coastal. Before the advent of air travel, the ocean primarily transported people and cargo. If a city was close to the sea, it played a critical role in trade and commerce.

Scientists have long warned that New York City and the adjacent Long Island are sinking. The former is falling partially because of the weight of its skyscrapers.

NASA's research focused on Los Angeles and San Francisco, examining coastal vertical land motion "including uplift and subsidence." Subsidence is defined as "the sinking of land," according to the California Department of Water Resources. Groundwater extraction is among its primary causes.

As the Post explained, subsidence is unfortunately not occurring in a vacuum in Los Angeles or other affected coastal cities worldwide. However, nearly 70% of Californians live near coasts.

Coupled with rapidly rising sea levels, experts worry that this one-two punch could enable subsidence to "creep up more than twice as much as previously forecast" in the next 25 years.

NASA researchers reviewed high-resolution satellite data spanning 2015 to 2023 for these projections.

"Our findings reveal that regional estimates substantially understate sea level rise in parts of San Francisco and Los Angeles, projecting more than double the expected rise by 2050," they explained in the study, citing past and future groundwater extraction as a major contributing factor.

Why is this important?

On Nov. 2, industry trade publication Smart Water Magazine revisited the findings. It noted that causes identified in the research, such as groundwater extraction, are human-induced. 

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In contrast with natural contributing factors like the natural movement of the land, human interventions are less predictable and more controllable. 

As average temperatures increase and seas rise, extreme weather becomes more frequent, and dangerous environmental changes accelerate. 

Land has always shifted tectonically, but scientific consensus shows that human activity significantly worsens these impacts.

In a press release issued by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, landslide expert Alexander Handwerger explained why the risk was grave and immediate.

"In effect, we're seeing that the footprint of land experiencing significant impacts has expanded, and the speed is more than enough to put human life and infrastructure at risk," he cautioned.

What's being done about it?

In the study's abstract, its authors cited a "critical need" to update the criteria for assessing sea level rise and subsidence, calling for improved coastal management and adaptation efforts.

A separate NASA press release about the study urged the public to remain aware of key climate issues like sea level rise.

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