Climate change isn't just limited to above the planet's surface. The temperature is rising underground as well, putting densely built cities at risk, according to a study published in the journal Communications Engineering. The study found that urban areas struggle with subsurface heat islands, which are "an underground climate change responsible for environmental, public health, and transportation issues." The phenomenon leads to "ground deformations and displacements" that can impact the "operational performance of structures and infrastructures with time."
"All around you, you have heat sources," the study's author, Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, told The New York Times. "These are things that people don't see, so it's like they don't exist." The study analyzed Chicago, specifically finding that much of the heat came from underground infrastructure like basements, as well as pipes, train tunnels, parking garages, and electrical wires. The phenomenon was deemed "underground climate change."
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The other concern is the warming's impact on the underground ecosystem. Below the surface is "home to animals that ... such as worms, snails, insects, crustaceans and salamanders," that are used to "very static conditions," Grant Ferguson, an engineering geologist at the University of Saskatchewan, told Scientific American.
Per the study, underground climate change poses a "silent hazard" to cities, "but also an opportunity to reutilize or minimize waste heat in the ground."
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