tech
Up to 2cm a month: Nasa keeps track as Mexico City sinks into the ground
Powerful radar system is providing new data on city’s subsidence, which experts hope will draw more attention to it
TL;DR
- Mexico City is sinking at an alarming rate, with some areas subsiding by more than 2cm per month.
- The Nisar satellite, a joint project by Nasa and ISRO, is providing real-time, detailed tracking of the city's subsidence.
- The sinking is primarily caused by excessive groundwater extraction from an aquifer beneath the city, which is built on a soft, ancient lake bed.
- This subsidence affects the city's infrastructure, including buildings, roads, water distribution, and drainage pipes.
- Nisar's radar technology has capabilities beyond monitoring subsidence, including studying volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, and climate change impacts.
- The city loses an estimated 40% of its water due to leakage from damaged pipes caused by sinking.
- Addressing the sinking problem is complex, as it requires reducing groundwater extraction, which supplies about half of the city's water.