- frequent revisit, so can track even sub-monthly changes
- the L-band radar is at a wavelength (24cm) that penetrates vegetation canopy, removing a confounder from the measurement
- excellent spatial resolution that is relevant to urban scenes
The data volume is exceptionally high and required a lot of engineering effort. All radars are demanding, but this one was a new high-water mark.
(https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/now-that-nisar-launched-...)
> Originally, nine steps led to the base, but due to the sinking of the ground, an ongoing problem in Mexico City, fourteen more steps have been added.
So why didn't the monument itself also sink? Does it have piles going down to bedrock or something?
So yes, it has an engineered foundation, a double-engineered foundation. The roads around it almost certainly do not. So it is plausible that the monument is not sinking as quickly.
What are the practical consequences of this today, and what is being done to remedy this?
Note in particular the last one, which is a classic. Roads, buildings, and all underground infrastructure is affected. As well as anyone else who uses that groundwater, as well as future users - because come groundwater reservoirs do not recover, the compaction is permanent.
Infrastructure degradation. Think overpass collapses or metro rail lines being misaligned.
> what is being done to remedy this
Not enough. CDMX faces the issue of multiple political entities with varying power making management difficult.
A lot of the subsidence happens in informal settlements [0] due to a mixture of political populism (no one would dare demolish an informal settlement and piss off voters).
Beijing used to have a similar issue, but a mixture of hukou, mass evictions, and mass demolitions helped alleviate the issue.
[0] - https://penniur.upenn.edu/uploads/media/02_Gutierrez.pdf
Thank you very much, Cloudlare.
The nobel prize winner hopefully figures that out
It’s exactly the sort of news bite that catastrophists glom onto.
This is responsible journalism.
"Recent satellite maps show Mexico City getting closer to hell at alarming rate"
> New data from NISAR shows where Mexico City and its environs subsided by up to a few centimeters per month (shown in blue) between Oct. 25, 2025, and Jan. 17, 2026
Real shame this re-report made the SCP