Sinkholes are increasing around the world, causing collapses and mega chasms in the ground. Scientists have given an explanation involving climate change.
Between uncontrolled fires and powerful floods, climate change is making itself felt more and more every year with increasingly severe and destructive natural phenomena. The problems, however, are not only those we see on land or in the sky above us, because according to scientists of the British Geological Survey is changing even something below our feet.
What are sinkholes and how they are formed
Sinkholes are cavities of karstic origin that form in the rocky terrain and can lead to the sudden opening of large chasms in the ground. In recent weeks three very large ones have appeared in Florida, another has caused major traffic problems in Indiana, while a sinkhole two and a half meters deep has opened in New York. Some have appeared in the United Kingdom, causing road closures, property damage and structural problems.
There are two types of sinkholes: overburden sinkholes, which are created slowly over time; and those that appear suddenly causing a collapse.
According to a study by the British Geological Survey, sinkholes can appear following heavy rains or flooding, can result from leaking sewer pipes and changes in the level of the water table, or even from mining. However, scientists have also given a new explanation: the increase in sinkholes stems from the climate crisis.
Why sinkholes depend on climate change: the new study
In the new research, published in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, scientists from the British Geological Survey used Florida as a case study and found strong correlations between high temperatures and sinkhole formation.
Florida was chosen because it was home to an impressive number of sinkholes, more than 2,800 since 1950. The study found that for every 0.1 degree Celsius increase in global temperature, the number of sinkholes increased between 1 and 3 percent.
Vanessa Banks, coauthor of the study, explained to The Independent, “In Florida, sinkholes form around the water table and propagate upward. If the water table fluctuates, which it does when you have varying amounts of precipitation, then yes, it’s all about climate change.”
“About 50 percent of sinkholes are related to anthropogenic activity,” she added, “while 50 percent were natural in origin. Very important is the influence of the dry climate, because the cracks are formed in the soils that then are no longer able to bind as firmly as before”.
In conclusion, in the areas where the climate will be increasingly dry, as suggested by the research, there is to expect an exponential increase of sinkholes that will be added to all the other natural disasters that many countries are experiencing with the worsening of the climate crisis.
Armando Mercuri