Scientists Find Venice is Still Sinking

Scientists from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in collaboration with the University of California, San Diego have found that although previous studies have shown Venice to be stabilizing, it is in fact continuing to sink at a rate of about 2 millimeters or .07 inches per year. Yahuda Bock a research geodisist with Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego is the lead author on a new research paper about the sinking of the city worked with colleagues from the University of Miami and Italy's Tele-Rilevamento Europa. Tele-Rilevamento Europa is a company that measures deformation to then analyze data collected by GPS and inSar, space borne radar instruments. The GPS measurements are used to get absolute elevations. The inSAR data is then used to calculate elevations relative to other points. These two data sets have been combined from 2000 to 2010 showing Bock and his colleagues that the city has been sinking on an average of 1to 2 millimeters each year. Through this research the scientists have found that not only is the city sinking, but it is also tilting a millimeter or two east each year. The current conditions are due to natural causes, which may have been affecting the area for some time. Plate tectonics play a heavy role in the subsidence of the area. The Adriatic Plate subducts beneath the Apennines Mountains causing the area to drop slightly in elevation. Pumping groundwater was banned when scientists found the practice along with the grounds compaction from centuries of building was causing the area to sink. The city is flooded several times a year especially during the period know as Acqua Alta. Flood gates designed to keep the water levels at bay are nearing completion, but builders will need to take into account this subduction along with the rising water levels. Officials will also need to address the sinking sediment and shore up land in the surrounding lagoon.