Radar images taken from planes or satellites could some day be used to predict where sinkholes might form - a potential boon for Florida, the sinkhole capital of the US.
The possibility of an early-warning system stems from new NASA research into a monstrous sinkhole that opened in Louisiana in 2012, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
Two NASA researchers examined radar images of the sinkhole area near Bayou Corne. Cathleen Jones and Ron Blom discovered that the ground near Bayou Corne began shifting at least a month before the sinkhole formed - as much as 10 inches (25.4 centimetres) towards where the sinkhole started. Since its formation, the sinkhole has expanded to 25 acres and is still growing.
The NASA findings raise the possibility that engineers eventually could develop a way to predict the location of sinkholes. It would require the constant collection and monitoring of the Earth's surface with radar data collected from planes or satellites.
"It's not a magic bullet," Blom said. But it could be "one more tool in a tool kit."
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The radar images studied by the two NASA scientists were part of the agency's ongoing effort to monitor the Louisiana coast, which is rapidly sinking into the Gulf of Mexico. Although the Louisiana images were taken from a research jet, the scientists said a satellite with similar technology could do the same job.
And though such a system wouldn't be cheap - the price of building and launching a satellite usually is in the hundreds of millions of dollars - the gains could be significant. In Florida alone, sinkholes cause about that much property damage each year.
Although there are no recent state data on sinkhole damage, a 2010 report by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation estimated that sinkholes each year cost the state $US200 million to $US400 million ($A221.69 million to $A443.39 million).
