Scientists explain why giant sinkholes appear in the earth

Arya Assadi Langroudi, a technology engineer at the University of East London, explained what sinkholes are and what are the ways to prevent them from appearing.

In January of this year in Manchester, a huge sinkhole literally swallowed a car. A similar thing happened in Scotland, where the coastal path went underground. These are recent examples, and there are countless of them.

Recently, sinkholes in the ground have only become more frequent. According to statistics, when the temperature increases by 0.1°C, the number of karst craters increases by 1-3%.

Gaps in the soil are formed when rainwater dissolves minerals. The soil is loosened, a relatively small pressure is enough to cause a sinkhole.

Human activity has made the cavities more frequent. The reason is large-scale construction, deep mining, and climate change. Many people imagine the soil as something stable and dense, but in fact it is not. Engineers develop methods of soil restoration. For example, with the help of fungi that form complex root connections. It is definitely impossible to let the situation take its course.