Quantifying Creeping Deformations due to Subsurface Urban Heat Islands in Chicago

Subsurface urban heat islands (SUHIs) pose a threat to urban areas, inducing an underground climate change with ground temperature anomalies exceeding +20°C in major cities worldwide. Rising subsurface temperatures can significantly impact civil infrastructure, rendering soils, rocks, and construction materials susceptible to thermal deformations. Although substantial research has explored SUHI effects on ecological, hydrogeological, public health, and transportation systems, their implications on civil infrastructure remain poorly understood. This study makes a step forward in addressing this gap by quantifying ground deformations caused by SUHIs in the Chicago Loop district. The study models deformations induced by SUHIs as a viscous process driven by thermally accelerated creep, diverging from previous analyses based on thermo-elasticity theory. Results underscore a strong correlation between SUHI temperature fluctuations and ground displacements, highlighting significant implications for civil infrastructure. This research lays the groundwork for further exploration into the adverse impacts of underground climate change on civil infrastructure.