≋ THE SINKING WORLDAn atlas of a planet in motionAbout the data

THE GROUND BENEATH US

The world is
moving.

Some cities are sinking. Some landscapes are rising. Everywhere, the ground is less still than it seems.

01 / 03

Explore the forces changing our relationship with the sea.

Explore the map

THE GLOBAL PICTURE

A restless surface.

Choose a place to see how its land and the ocean could move over time.

VERTICAL LAND MOTIONAPPROXIMATE RATES · MM / YEAR
Sinking city Rising region Groundwater hotspot
Select a marker or use the place selector below
Map layers

Land motion is local. Rates vary across neighborhoods and over time; these markers are an invitation to explore, not a site assessment.

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A CLOSER LOOK

A changing
shoreline.

Fast-sinking land can amplify the effect of rising seas. Move through time to see an illustrative comparison.

SINKING CITY
−100mm / year
land motion

Sea-level scenario

Illustrative global rise, relative to 2025: 0.25 m or 0.45 m by 2075.

LAND & SEA LEVEL2025
Illustrative land and sea-level cross sectionLand and sea levels change as you adjust the year and scenario.2025 REFERENCESEA LEVEL
LAND CHANGE0.00 m
SEA LEVEL RISE0.00 m
RELATIVE CHANGE0.00 m
2025
19752025 · PRESENT2075

Past and future are simple linear illustrations, not measured histories or forecasts. The sea-level scenarios apply only after 2025.

A NOTE ON THE NUMBERS

The ground tells
many stories.

Satellites reveal motion at extraordinary scale, but the causes are local: groundwater pumping, sediment compaction, tectonics and the slow rebound of land once buried under ice.

This atlas uses rounded, representative rates. They are not uniform across a city, and extrapolating them over decades is an illustration—not a prediction of future flood depth.

Explore the researchNature Sustainability · coastal subsidence ↗NASA · sea level science ↗IPCC · Sixth Assessment Report ↗NASA Earthdata · land deformation ↗