Florida
South Florida’s beachfront buildings found to be sinking faster than expected
A team of mechanical, architectural and environmental engineers, geoscientists, and geoinformation specialists affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. and Germany has found that many of the tall, heavy buildings along the coast of South Florida are sinking into the ground much faster than was expected.
In their study published in the journal Earth and Space Science, the group compared satellite images over several years to learn more about ongoing subsidence along multiple beachfronts.
Prior research has shown that many factors can lead to subsidence, in which the altitude of a given parcel of land declines. Natural causes include water movement, earthquakes and gravity. Manmade causes include the heaviness of the built environment, including large buildings, and activities including fracking and landscaping.
In this new study, the researchers noted that the many tall buildings along many parts of the coast in South Florida appeared to be extremely heavy. They wondered if adding so much weight might be causing the ground beneath them to sink.
To find out, the researchers obtained precise satellite imagery for several of the most popular beaches in South Florida and compared 35 buildings standing on them over time. Modern satellite imagery is so precise it can detect changes in altitude of just a few centimeters. The researchers found that every one of the buildings they measured was sinking, ranging from 2 to 8 cm over the years 2016 to 2023, and that most of them were sinking faster than expected.
The research team also found that there were differences in subsidence between beach areas. The worst, for example, was occurring on Sunny Isles Beach; after that was Surfside, site of the collapse of a 12-story building back in 2021. Miami Beach, they noted, was experiencing the least amount of subsidence.
Because of the building collapse three years ago, the researchers took a closer look at Surfside to find out if subsidence may have been a contributing cause and found no evidence. Even if the building had been sinking, they note, it should not have led to structural damage unless it was sinking unevenly, with one part of the ground under the building sinking faster than another.
They suggest more work is required to determine if that is happening to any of the buildings in South Florida, and if so, to warn their owners.
More information:
Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani et al, InSAR Observations of Construction‐Induced Coastal Subsidence on Miami’s Barrier Islands, Florida, Earth and Space Science (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2024EA003852
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Austin Smotherman will carry a three-stroke lead into the weekend at the Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches.
Smotherman followed his opening 62 with a 2-under-par 69 on Friday at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That brought him to 11 under, comfortably clear of Taylor Moore, who is in second after his second straight 4-under 67.
Cognizant Classic scoreboard
“Yeah, leading a PGA Tour event, come on, pretty awesome,” Smotherman said.
Smotherman, 31, is in fine position for his first win on the PGA Tour since turning pro a decade ago. He has won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour, including last June.
Afterwards, he credited himself with playing “Austin Smotherman golf.” When asked what that meant, he responded, “as boring and simple as it can be.
“That’s what I want to do out there. I feel like I ball strike it good enough to have that kind of boring golf, a bunch of fairways ideally,” he said.
He suffered three bogeys Friday after a bogey-free opening round, but the key stretch for him after starting on the back nine was between Nos. 17 and 3. He birdied four holes in that stretch, starting with a 54-foot bomb at the par-3 17th hole.
“Anything under par I thought would have been (good) following up a round like yesterday, which was a special one,” he said, “and try not to get too far ahead of myself thinking I’m going to make every long putt I’m looking at, like kind of was the feeling yesterday, and then today I still make a 55-footer on 17.”
Moore overcame a bogey in each half of his round with three birdies on either nine, more than counterbalancing the rough patches to earn his second straight solid score.
“I think very different 67s,” Moore said when comparing his rounds. “I didn’t hit many fairways yesterday, kind of grinded a lot, had a couple chip-ins, which obviously helps. I thought I struck the ball much better today. Drove it in the fairways on the par-5s, I felt like. Yeah, still had a few up-and- downs, obviously, with the tough windy conditions this afternoon, but overall I thought it was solid.”
Canadian A.J. Ewart had the round of the day, a 64 that powered him to 7 under for the week. He’s tied with Colombia’s Nico Echavarria (72), and Joel Dahmen is in fifth at 6 under after a second consecutive 68.
Ewart, who played for nearby Barry University in college, came in with some familiarity.
“We used to come and watch this tournament when I was at school. I think I came up here twice, maybe three times and watched,” Ewart said. “I had never actually played the golf course, but I felt like I knew it just from watching it.”
Irishman Shane Lowry, one of the most recognizable players in the field, is in a large knot for sixth at 5 under after posting a 67. Defending champion Joe Highsmith made the cut on the number at even par.
Notable players who missed the cut included Webb Simpson (1 over), Gary Woodland (2 over), Matt Kuchar (2 over) and Canada’s Adam Hadwin (3 over).
Kim maintains narrow lead in Singapore
Auston Kim maintained a narrow lead over three seasoned competitors with a 3-under-par 69 on Friday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
Kim carded five birdies and a double-bogey at the par-5 16th hole at Sentosa Golf Club to move to 9-under par, one shot ahead of major champions Minjee Lee of Australia (64 on Friday) and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (67) and three- time LPGA Tour winner Haeran Ryu of South Korea (68).
Lurking two shots back at 7-under in the no-cut event are Australia’s Hannah Green (66), Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (68), Sweden’s Linn Grant (69) and England’s Mimi Rhodes (69).
Kim, an LPGA Tour member since 2024, has been knocking on the door of her first tour win. The American has eight finishes in the top 10 and was the runner-up at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last season.
“I think just sticking to my process. I’m trying to earn each shot and win each shot and win each day,” Kim, 25, said of her strategy heading into the weekend. “I can put a hundred percent of my focus into every single shot and try my best to execute each time, I’ll do well.”
Lee soared into contention with an eagle at the par-4 second hole and six birdies in a bogey-free round.
“I think just I holed a few more putts out there,” Lee said of the difference between Friday’s play and her opening-round of 72. “I holed a few long ones and I also holed out for eagle on the second. That always helps the score.”
Jutanugarn had six birdies, including three straight from holes Nos. 5-7, and one bogey.
Ryu collected four birdies in a round free of bogeys, but not free from pain.
“Today, my neck was so bad and I cannot turn it around, it’s so hard, my neck,” Ryu said. “But yeah, golf is not perfect. I just think about it, just hit the fairway and the green. Yeah, that’s good for me. There’s a lot of birdies, and yeah, I’m so happy.”
Angel Yin matched Lee for the low round of the day with a 64 to move into a tie for ninth at 6-under.
Defending champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand (72) remained a 2-under posting four birdies and four bogeys.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand is tied for 33rd at 1-under after a round of 70.
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