"Underground Climate Change Is Weakening Buildings in Slow Motion
Hotspots beneath cities deform the ground, causing important infrastructure to crack under stress"

"The streets, sidewalks and roofs of cities all absorb heat during the day, making some urban areas up to six degrees Fahrenheit hotter than rural ones during the day—and 22 degrees F hotter at night. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground as the city heat diffuses downward, beneath the surface. And basements, subway tunnels and other subterranean infrastructure also constantly bleed heat into the surrounding earth, creating hotspots. Now that underground heat is building up as the planet warms.

According to a new study of downtown Chicago, underground hotspots may threaten the very same structures that emit the heat in the first place. Such temperature changes make the ground around them expand and contract enough to cause potential damage. “Without [anyone] realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was deforming,” says the study’s author Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, a civil and environmental engineer at Northwestern University.

The findings, published on July 11 in Communications Engineering, expose a “silent hazard” to civil infrastructure in cities with softer ground—especially those near water—Rotta Loria says. “There might have been structural issues caused by this underground climate change that happened, and we didn’t even realize,” he adds. While not an immediate or direct danger to human lives, this previously unknown effect highlights the impacts of a lesser-known component of climate change."

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/underground-climate-change-is-weakening-buildings-in-slow-motion1/

Portland has two major rivers that meet here. I wonder if it's getting ready to fall into them. I'm on the other side of the hills, so I should be safe from that here.

TB

Technobarbarian wrote:
>
> "Underground Climate Change Is Weakening Buildings in Slow Motion
> Hotspots beneath cities deform the ground, causing important
> infrastructure to crack under stress"
>
> "The streets, sidewalks and roofs of cities all absorb heat during
> the day, making some urban areas up to six degrees Fahrenheit
> hotter than rural ones during the day—and 22 degrees F hotter at
> night. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground
> as the city heat diffuses downward, beneath the surface. And
> basements, subway tunnels and other subterranean infrastructure
> also constantly bleed heat into the surrounding earth, creating
> hotspots. Now that underground heat is building up as the planet
> warms.
>
> According to a new study of downtown Chicago, underground hotspots
> may threaten the very same structures that emit the heat in the
> first place. Such temperature changes make the ground around them
> expand and contract enough to cause potential damage. “Without
> [anyone] realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was
> deforming,” says the study’s author Alessandro F. Rotta Loria,
> a civil and environmental engineer at Northwestern University.
>
> The findings, published on July 11 in Communications Engineering,
> expose a “silent hazard” to civil infrastructure in cities with
> softer ground—especially those near water—Rotta Loria says.
> “There might have been structural issues caused by this
> underground climate change that happened, and we didn’t even
> realize,” he adds. While not an immediate or direct danger to
> human lives, this previously unknown effect highlights the impacts
> of a lesser-known component of climate change."
>
> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/underground-climate-change-is-weakening-buildings-in-slow-motion1/
>
> Portland has two major rivers that meet here. I wonder if it's
> getting ready to fall into them. I'm on the other side of the
> hills, so I should be safe from that here.

damn. That's literally scary. I'm gonna buy some surplus motel Chinese
ice-making machines, and start scattering ice around my yard........as
soon as I figure out the efficacious metrics of the project.

So at the end of the day going forward into the passage of time, what
are you going to do if the hills fall into the rivers?

--
bill
Theory don't mean squat if it don't work.

On 7/11/2023 6:11 PM, bfh wrote:
> Technobarbarian wrote:
>>
>> "Underground Climate Change Is Weakening Buildings in Slow Motion
>> Hotspots beneath cities deform the ground, causing important
>> infrastructure to crack under stress"
>>
>> "The streets, sidewalks and roofs of cities all absorb heat during
>> the day, making some urban areas up to six degrees Fahrenheit
>> hotter than rural ones during the day—and 22 degrees F hotter at
>> night. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground
>> as the city heat diffuses downward, beneath the surface. And
>> basements, subway tunnels and other subterranean infrastructure
>> also constantly bleed heat into the surrounding earth, creating
>> hotspots. Now that underground heat is building up as the planet
>> warms.
>>
>> According to a new study of downtown Chicago, underground hotspots
>> may threaten the very same structures that emit the heat in the
>> first place. Such temperature changes make the ground around them
>> expand and contract enough to cause potential damage. “Without
>> [anyone] realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was
>> deforming,” says the study’s author Alessandro F. Rotta Loria,
>> a civil and environmental engineer at Northwestern University.
>>
>> The findings, published on July 11 in Communications Engineering,
>> expose a “silent hazard” to civil infrastructure in cities with
>> softer ground—especially those near water—Rotta Loria says.
>> “There might have been structural issues caused by this
>> underground climate change that happened, and we didn’t even
>> realize,” he adds. While not an immediate or direct danger to
>> human lives, this previously unknown effect highlights the impacts
>> of a lesser-known component of climate change."
>>
>> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/underground-climate-change-is-weakening-buildings-in-slow-motion1/
>>
>>  Portland has two major rivers that meet here. I wonder if it's
>> getting ready to fall into them. I'm on the other side of the
>> hills, so I should be safe from that here.
>
> damn. That's literally scary. I'm gonna buy some surplus motel Chinese
> ice-making machines, and start scattering ice around my yard........as
> soon as I figure out the efficacious metrics of the project.
>
> So at the end of the day going forward into the passage of time, what
> are you going to do if the hills fall into the rivers?
>

Here comes more rising sea levels.
--
NAGA Democrats are destroying the United States of America.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 4:11:46 PM UTC-7, bfh wrote:
> Technobarbarian wrote:
> >
> > "Underground Climate Change Is Weakening Buildings in Slow Motion
> > Hotspots beneath cities deform the ground, causing important
> > infrastructure to crack under stress"
> >
> > "The streets, sidewalks and roofs of cities all absorb heat during
> > the day, making some urban areas up to six degrees Fahrenheit
> > hotter than rural ones during the day—and 22 degrees F hotter at
> > night. These “urban heat islands†can also develop underground
> > as the city heat diffuses downward, beneath the surface. And
> > basements, subway tunnels and other subterranean infrastructure
> > also constantly bleed heat into the surrounding earth, creating
> > hotspots. Now that underground heat is building up as the planet
> > warms.
> >
> > According to a new study of downtown Chicago, underground hotspots
> > may threaten the very same structures that emit the heat in the
> > first place. Such temperature changes make the ground around them
> > expand and contract enough to cause potential damage. “Without
> > [anyone] realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was
> > deforming,†says the study’s author Alessandro F. Rotta Loria,
> > a civil and environmental engineer at Northwestern University.
> >
> > The findings, published on July 11 in Communications Engineering,
> > expose a “silent hazard†to civil infrastructure in cities with
> > softer ground—especially those near water—Rotta Loria says.
> > “There might have been structural issues caused by this
> > underground climate change that happened, and we didn’t even
> > realize,†he adds. While not an immediate or direct danger to
> > human lives, this previously unknown effect highlights the impacts
> > of a lesser-known component of climate change."
> >
> > https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/underground-climate-change-is-weakening-buildings-in-slow-motion1/
> >
> > Portland has two major rivers that meet here. I wonder if it's
> > getting ready to fall into them. I'm on the other side of the
> > hills, so I should be safe from that here.
> damn. That's literally scary. I'm gonna buy some surplus motel Chinese
> ice-making machines, and start scattering ice around my yard........as
> soon as I figure out the efficacious metrics of the project.
>
> So at the end of the day going forward into the passage of time, what
> are you going to do if the hills fall into the rivers?
>
> --
> bill
> Theory don't mean squat if it don't work.

Most likely enjoy my view of the new lake, if I get that close. There's barely enough room for the city of Portland to land in the rivers. Out here, away from the rivers, the land is made of sterner stuff. A lot of it was more or less welded together by volcanoes. When you get close to the river a lot of the land was put there by the river. We've been told that some of the land down by the river will "liquify" in a major earthquake.

"Tank Farm in Northwest Portland Is a Flaming Disaster Waiting to Happen, New Report Says
At full capacity, the hub can hold 351 million gallons of fuel, and 200 million of those gallons could be released in a quake."

"The massive earthquake that’s expected to one day hit off the coast of Oregon is scary enough without considering what would happen to the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub.

The CEI Hub, as it’s known, is a collection of huge white tanks you see on your right as you head up U.S. Route 30 to Sauvie Island to go berry picking. There are 630 of them, full of 150 different liquids, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

There are lots of tanks all over the world like the ones at the hub. The problem with ours is that they are built on riverside soil that is subject to “liquifaction” and “lateral spread,” according to a report released Monday by the Multnomah County Office of Sustainability and the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.

Those technical terms mean that, in an earthquake, the tanks would likely move around and rupture, spilling gas on land and into the Willamette River. The lighter fuels would float downstream, the report says, while the heavier ones would settle in the river bottom.

At full capacity, the hub can hold 351 million gallons of fuel, and 200 million of those gallons could be released in a quake. That’s about how much oil spewed out of the offshore Deepwater Horizon well after it blew up in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and became the largest marine oil spill in history. That oil sprayed out over three months. This collection of hydrocarbons would hit the environment much more quickly.

And it gets worse. Some of the fuels would likely catch fire.

“A petrochemical fire poses significant risk to the surrounding areas because containment and suppression may not be possible in the aftermath of the earthquake,” the report says. “The fumes from fires and chemical materials will also create health hazards.”

In short, it would be like every bad disaster movie—except the ones with aliens—happened at once, right in Northwest Portland. And this isn’t hypothetical. As WW reported in 2011, it’s not a matter of whether a massive earthquake is going to hit, but when."

https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/02/07/tank-farm-in-northwest-portland-is-flaming-disaster-waiting-to-happen-new-report-says/

So, I might have to move to the coast for awhile, until things cool down. "The horror."

TB