Dario Amodei · Wired
A Powerful NASA Satellite Just Shared How Fast
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Mexico City is one of the fastest sinking cities in the world.
Key facts
- A study conducted in 2024 by Dario Solano-Rojas, a remote-sensing specialist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, found that subsidence is not uniform
- The satellite designed by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), known as NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), could capture with unprecedented precision the magnitude
- The phenomenon was first documented in 1925 by engineer Roberto Gayol
- In the map, NASA identified areas with subsidence greater than 2 centimeters per month (marked in dark blue)
Summary
The satellite designed by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), known as NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), could capture with unprecedented precision the magnitude and evolution of this phenomenon in different areas of the Mexican capital. Their findings were captured in a map that shows how the subsurface of the metropolis is shifting. The image also highlights the location of Benito Juarez International Airport, located near Lake Nabor Carrillo, which operates in the middle of an area with accelerated subsidence. Mexico City sits atop the clay and lake bed of ancient Lake Texcoco. A study conducted in 2024 by Dario Solano-Rojas, a remote-sensing specialist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, found that subsidence is not uniform.