NASA Maps Indicate That New Orleans And Surrounding Regions Are Still Sinking

A worrying, new NASA study shows that New Orleans and its environs are getting submerged. Its detailed study examines thousands of points throughout New Orleans and its suburbs, with a few places getting sunk by over one-and-a-half inches every year.

"What we're trying to do is get set up to do this over the long term so we can see how it changes over time," said Cathleen Jones, a radar scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and lead author of the study.

With the help of a radar strapped to a jet, the study was pretty close throughout New Orleans and its surrounding areas between 2009 and 2012. The jet had a unique autopilot system to check that there was consistency in the altitudes and courses that it flew over.

In the current study, the team found some alterations at the millimeter level in the elevation of the ground at a pinpoint scale. These minute changes were observed only in the current study.

"Previously, if we wanted to measure subsidence, we'd have to go and observe particular points," said Joshua Kent from Louisiana State University and co-author of the study. "This is like capturing a photo of the subsidence."

The areas with the biggest changes were found in the industrial areas Michoud in New Orleans East, and Norco in St. Charles Parish. Near Michoud, the areas reduced by about 1.18 inches each year, while near Norco, they sank by about 1.6 inches each year.

The information indicates  that more research is needed to find out whether industrial operations are leading to the change. It is also possible that a lot of groundwater is being sapped from the area.

The findings were published in the May 16 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.