As southeast Texas and Louisiana cope with the devastation left behind by hurricane Harvey, scientists now say the event was so extreme, it caused Houston to drop by nearly an inch.
According to earthquake scientist Chris Milliner, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the natural disaster pushed the ground beneath Houston down 2 centimeters as Earth’s crust flexed under the inordinate weight of the floodwater.
The expert notes that the phenomenon is likely the result of both subsidence and soil compaction – and, while the region could bounce back to normal, he says only time will tell.
According to earthquake scientist Chris Milliner, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the natural disaster pushed the ground beneath Houston down 2 centimeters as Earth’s crust flexed under the inordinate weight of the floodwater
Milliner tweeted the findings this week, writing that the GPS data show the flood was ‘so large it flexed Earth’s crust, pushing Houston down by ~2 cm [.78 inch]!’
Some of the measurements were collected by stations situated on the bedrock, which showed signs of subsidence.
The effect is much like what happens if you jump on and off your mattress, he explains in replies to the original post.
‘Water acts as a load that depress crust, it may uplift again soon,’ he notes.
As of Monday, the researchers haven’t noted any rebound in the area.
But, Milliner says it is possible that the ground will return to normal.
‘It’s most likely elastic loading, so temporary deformation that will restored [sic] once flood waters have receded,’ Milliner wrote.
‘So possible uplift soon.’
By Saturday, when the rains had mostly died down, scientists estimated Harvey had dumped 33 trillion gallons of water on the southeast US
By Saturday, when the rains had mostly died down, scientists estimated Harvey had dumped 33 trillion gallons of water on the southeast US, according to the Washington Post.
The resulting floods put massive amounts of pressure on Earth’s crust, causing it to flex under the weight, according to Milliner.
‘The rain itself can’t, but the floodwaters can,’ Milliner explained in a reply.
‘1 cubit meter of water = 1 ton, you could fit that in your car, and would double its weight.’
By the time the rain stopped, scientists estimated Harvey to have dumped about 1 million gallons of water for every man, woman and child in southeastern Texas.
A rescue boat enters a flooded subdivision as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise. There’s a lot of debate among climate scientists over what role, if any, global warming may have played in causing Harvey to stall over Texas
This, they say, is- a soggy, record-breaking glimpse of the wet and wild future that global warming could bring.
Some have even gone as far as to say such extreme storms are ‘the new normal’.
While researchers are quick to say that climate change didn’t cause Harvey, they do note that warmer air and water mean wetter and possibly more intense hurricanes in the future.
‘This is the kind of thing we are going to get more of,’ said Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer.
‘This storm should serve as warning.’