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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: New Orleans Sinking Faster Than Thought, Satellites Find


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Much of New Orleans was underwater after Hurricane Katrina, as shown in the top image, made on August 30, 2005 by NASA's Terra satellite.

The lower image, made two days before Katrina came ashore, shows the city between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.

Research based on new satellite images shows that parts of New Orleans are sinking much more rapidly than had been thought. Such sinking may have contributed to the failure of the city's levee system to hold back Katrina's storm surge, scientists suggest.

Image courtesy NASA