According to an article in the current edition of the journal Nature, a team led by researcher Giuseppe Gambolati of the University of Padova has developed a plan to actually raise Venice as much as 30 cm over 10 years, slowly, by pumping seawater into a sandy layer 600 to 800 meters below the ground.
This could help to extend the effective life of the MOSE project, the giant water gates that are being built over the next 10 years to regulate the flow of the Adriatic into the Venetian lagoon during flood emergencies. There are concerns that the massively expensive MOSE ($3.8 billion) will be rendered ineffective after 100 years or sooner, owing to the speed at which Venice seems to be sinking.
In his book, Venice Against The Sea, author John Keahey explains how water wells were drilled en masse in the 20th century in and around Venice, and how the "subterranean water bubble that had undergirded the lagoon for millenia began to deflate". They stopped the groundwater extraction (shutting down the wells) in the 70's, but experts like Albert Ammerman think it was too late, and that the effect was to radically speed the sinking of the city.
So in effect, Gambolati's proposal seems to aimed at reinflating that bubble, and as a layperson, it looks really interesting. The whole idea will now be considered by CORILA (English language website is here), the Consortium for Coordination of Research Activities concerning the Venice Lagoon System. I'll keep my eye on the proposal and see what experts make of the pros and cons.
Comments