NASA Satellite Maps Mexico City Sinking at Up to 2cm Per Month

“Images like this are just the beginning. Since the phenomenon was first documented in 1925, continuous pumping from the underlying aquifer has caused the soil to compact under the weight of the city above. The aquifer still supplies roughly half the capital's water, but extraction now far exceeds natural recharge from rainfall. The water table is dropping about 40 centimeters per year, intensifying the compaction. Climate change has compounded the problem through years of below-average rainfall, raising the prospect of widespread water shortages. Cracked pipes from the sinking create a vicious cycle in which even more water is lost before it reaches homes. A scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the city is subsiding primarily due to groundwater pumping at rates that exceed natural recharge. Stopping the extraction entirely would remove the main water source for millions of residents.”

The satellite uses two synthetic aperture radars operating at different wavelengths and a 12-meter reflector antenna, allowing it to monitor Earth's surface twice every 12 days regardless of cloud cover or vegetation. It can detect changes as small as a few millimeters from week to week.

Researchers at Mexico’s National Autonomous University noted that the NISAR imagery provides a clearer picture of how subsidence varies across different types of land and has reached previously hard-to-study outskirts. The data extends beyond Mexico City to potential uses in tracking volcanic deformation, earthquake-related shifts, landslides, glacier movement, soil moisture, coastal flooding and agricultural changes.

"NISAR will see any change big or small that happens on Earth from week to week. No other imaging mission can claim this," a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist told reporters. Project managers described Mexico City as a known hotspot and said the new measurements align with expectations for the satellite's performance.

Limited efforts have been made to address the sinking beyond reinforcing historic building foundations. Officials acknowledge that halting subsidence would require sharply reducing groundwater extraction, a step that carries immediate practical difficulties for water supply.

The fresh satellite data is expected to focus greater attention on the long-term challenge facing the Mexican capital.