Dozens of buildings in South Florida, including luxury condos and hotels, are sinking into the ground, according to a new study.
The study from the University of Miami found 35 buildings in the Miami area sank as much as 3 inches between 2016 and 2023. Researchers said the main cause behind the sinking was vibrations from construction, which can cause soil particles to compact and settle. This results in land subsidence, which is a term for the sinking of land gradually over time.
“The discovery of the extent of subsidence hot spots along the South Florida coastline was unexpected,” said Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani, the study’s lead author, a former postdoctoral researcher and alumna of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School. “The study underscores the need for ongoing monitoring and a deeper understanding of the long-term implications for these structures.”
“It’s not a surprise if buildings move during the construction or immediately after the construction, because it’s heavy and the engineers take that into account when they build,” Falk Amelung, senior author of the study and a professor of geophysics at the Rosenstiel School Department of Marine Geosciences, told CNN.
He noted that the finding that the sinking continues for years after “was surprising.”
Researchers used satellite imagery to track tiny movements of the Earth’s surface, looking at specific points such as balconies and similar objects to measure their movement over time.
Researchers noted that their findings raise “additional questions, which require further investigation.”
Some of these buildings are significant in South Florida, including the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Trump Tower III, Trump International Beach Resort, and the Surf Club Towers. About 70% of buildings are sinking in northern and central Sunny Isles Beach, and about 23% of the structures in these locations were built in the past decade, according to the study.
The study started after the Champlain Towers South collapsed in Surfside, Florida, in 2021, killing 98 people. Researchers analyzed data for Champlain Towers South but found no displacement signals were detected before the collapse, which they said indicates that settlement was not the cause of the collapse.
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Miami faces a few unique challenges, mainly land subsidence and rising sea levels as a result of climate change, which makes the city vulnerable to coastal flooding and erosion. Land subsidence is further aggravated by severe flooding caused by rising sea levels. The sea level is rising at a rate of roughly 2.6 inches per decade when averaged over the past 30 years.
Amelung said the researchers’ “hope is that officials in Florida will recognize the value for continued research on this issue across the state and explore how this novel technology can benefit coastal residents.”