Friday, April 20, 2012

The Sinking of Venice

Venice has faced flood troubles for centuries, but it has never faced a problem like this.

According to studies throughout the twenty-first century, the sinking of the city has sped up.

Plans to protect the city with moveable dams will be ineffective despite what was previously thought.

  • Venice sunk about seven centimeters each century for the past one-thousand years.
  • In the past one hundred years, it has sunk nearly twenty-four centimeters.
  • Some studies show that the city will sink twenty to fifty centimeters by 2050!
  • One of the main causes for increase in sinking rate is the draining of ground water.
  • This draining of ground water has forced the soil and dirt under the city to become more compact. This results in a lower ground level under the city. Thus, the city gets closer to sea level.
  • A proposed solution, difficult as it may be, is to replace the ground water with another liquid.
  • The project is still in the developing stages, but as of now, it is the best solution for the most pressing cause.
Works Cited

Venice Sinking Fast, Claims New Study. (2000, September 2). Retrieved from:

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/09/02/italy.venice.reut/

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