Scientists have found that land subsidence beneath densely populated coastal cities amplifies the effect of sea-level rise by an average of up to six millimeters per year, reports infohub.kz.
The study, published in the journal "Nature Communications," was conducted by researchers from the Technical University of Munich and Tulane University. The team, led by Julius Elsmann from the German Geodetic Research Institute, analyzed rates of inundation in densely populated regions.
The main cause of accelerated land sinking is ground subsidence triggered by groundwater extraction, oil and gas production, compaction of river delta sediments, and the weight of megacities. In densely populated areas, the relative sea level rises on average by 6 mm per year, nearly three times the global average along coastlines (2.1 mm per year).
The highest rates of subsidence were recorded in Jakarta (13.7 mm/year), Tianjin (13.5 mm/year), and Bangkok (8.5 mm/year). Professor Florian Seitz emphasized that limiting groundwater pumping and proper resource management could slow this process.