Published on : Tuesday, February 19, 2019
In 2018, earth research scientist Dr. Manoochehr Shirzaei released a study in conjunction with NASA that analyzed satellite data to measure sinking land throughout the San Francisco Bay. The study showed that San Francisco International Airport is sinking more than 5 millimeters per year, a significant drop geologically. When there is precipitation – areas accumulate water upon heavy rain.
NBC Bay Area obtained runway repair records dating back to 2016. Several instances of linear cracking called ‘alligator cracks’ was found. Shirzaei believes these fractures are the result of ground settling. Water pooling is a sign of differential sinking.
Runway repair costs at San Francisco International Airport totaled at least U.S. dollars 457,526.82 from 2016-2018, as per SFO work orders obtained by NBC Bay Area.
Between January 2016 and January 2019, maintenance crews shut down a portion of SFO’s runways for a total of 90 days to make repairs. That works out to one repair closure every four days during that time span.
When the runway is out of service and repaved, it causes flight delays. San Francisco International Airport is building strategy to address the issue of runaway sinking. These include repairs, building new seawalls to mitigate rising sea levels and land sinking.