Human activity has already caused significant changes in Earth’s atmosphere. Now,A new study has shown that the heat emitted by subsurface infrastructure such as transport systems, tunnels and basements is causing the ground beneath urban areas to move – risking damage to building foundations.as a ‘living laboratory’, deploying a network of more than 150 temperature sensors across the city centre and in nearby Grant Park.
‘In general, cities are warmer than rural areas because construction materials periodically trap heat derived from human activity and solar radiation and then release it into the atmosphere. That process has been studied for decades. Now, we are looking at its subsurface counterpart, which is mostly driven by anthropogenic activity.