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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →A satellite study found measurable ground movement affecting 35 coastal buildings and nearby areas on barrier islands from Miami Beach to Sunny Isles Beach. The observations cover 2016–2023; they do not show that all of Miami is sinking, that every affected building is unsafe, or that the movement is continuing at the same rate today.
What did the study actually find?
In a peer-reviewed study first published in December 2024, Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani and colleagues analyzed Sentinel-1 satellite radar observations from 2016 through 2023. They reported 2–8 centimeters of vertical displacement affecting 35 coastal buildings and nearby areas. The measurement is displacement over the study’s observation window, not an annual rate. The paper does not establish that all 35 buildings are luxury condos or hotels.
The strongest concentration was in Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside, with fewer affected structures in Bal Harbour and Miami Beach. In northern and central Sunny Isles Beach, the authors reported subsidence at nearly 70% of coastal structures. About half of the subsiding structures in the study were built before 2014. These are findings for the locations and period analyzed, not a live inventory of current movement at individual properties. The University of Miami repository records the underlying Sentinel-1 time series for 2016–2023 and 2019–2023, with files covering Sunny Isles and Surfside/Miami Beach: dataset record.
The study’s lead author, Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani, told the Associated Press that “The discovery of the extent of subsidence hotspots along the South Florida coastline was unexpected.” (Associated Press, December 17, 2024.)
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How was movement measured, and what does the number mean?
The researchers used interferometric synthetic aperture radar, or InSAR, which compares satellite radar observations over time to estimate changes in a surface’s position. It can reveal patterns across many buildings and surrounding ground, but it is not a hands-on structural inspection. The reported 2–8 cm is vertical displacement over 2016–2023; it should not be read as a uniform rate, a prediction of future movement, or a safety rating for a building.
The study’s abstract says high-rise construction on karstic barrier islands can induce creep deformation in sandy layers within limestone that persists for a decade or longer. That is the authors’ interpretation of a regional pattern, not a building-by-building diagnosis.
Why might coastal buildings settle?
The authors consider prolonged, load-induced creep in sandy layers within limestone a likely explanation for some observations. Construction may trigger or accelerate movement, but the study does not prove one cause for every location. Potential contributing mechanisms discussed in the paper include:
- The sustained weight of a building loading underlying sandy layers.
- Vibration from nearby or ongoing construction.
- Groundwater drawdown during foundation or garage construction.
- Cyclic groundwater movement associated with tides.
- Stormwater injection as a possible contributor to persistent movement.
The researchers observed differing time patterns: some signals appeared to decay, while others continued at a near-constant rate or accelerated later. They say the mechanisms are not fully understood and subsurface information is incomplete, limiting their ability to predict how long settlement will continue.
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Does measured settlement mean a building is unsafe?
No. A satellite displacement measurement alone does not establish whether a specific building is damaged or unsafe. The concern engineers would assess is differential settlement—uneven movement that can create internal stresses and potentially damage a structure. The study identifies that as a possible risk mechanism, not proof that every building with a measured signal has suffered damage.
InSAR is a regional monitoring method, not a substitute for a building-specific assessment. Determining a property’s condition requires appropriate inspection and engineering analysis; the satellite results do not provide that verdict.
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What does this have to do with the Surfside collapse?
The study did not establish that subsidence caused the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South. Although the building was in the broader Surfside area, the satellite could not image the part of the structure where the collapse initiated, so the study’s result at that site was inconclusive.
NIST’s February 5, 2025 update said investigators had completed experimental work on physical evidence, including tests of concrete cores and reinforcing bars, and were still conducting full-scale component tests to inform computer models and technical analysis. That update described work in progress; it was not a final determination of the collapse’s cause. (NIST update.)
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What the findings do—and do not—tell property owners
- They do show that researchers detected satellite-measured vertical displacement at 35 coastal buildings and nearby areas in the studied barrier-island communities during 2016–2023.
- They do not show that Miami as a whole is sinking, that all affected buildings are luxury properties, or that the measured displacement predicts imminent failure.
- They do not determine current movement or structural condition at a particular address. The study is a historical regional analysis, not a real-time inspection.
- They do suggest that settlement patterns and possible construction-related mechanisms merit building-specific attention, while leaving important causal and duration questions unresolved.
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