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Space geodesy: Subsidence and flooding in New Orleans.

Authors :
Dixon, Timothy H.
Amelung, Falk
Ferretti, Alessandro
Novali, Fabrizio
Rocca, Fabio
Dokka, Roy
Sella, Giovanni
Sang-Wan Kim
Wdowinski, Shimon
Whitman, Dean
Source :
Nature; 6/1/2006, Vol. 441 Issue 7093, p587-588, 2p, 1 Diagram, 1 Graph
Publication Year :
2006

Abstract

It has long been recognized that New Orleans is subsiding and is therefore susceptible to catastrophic flooding. Here we present a new subsidence map for the city, generated from space-based synthetic-aperture radar measurements, which reveals that parts of New Orleans underwent rapid subsidence in the three years before Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005. One such area is next to the Mississippi River–Gulf Outlet (MRGO) canal, where levees failed during the peak storm surge: the map indicates that this weakness could be explained by subsidence of a metre or more since their construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00280836
Volume :
441
Issue :
7093
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Nature
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
21014428
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/441587a