Disturbing before-and-after images show what the San Francisco Bay Area could look like in 2100

REUTERS/Stephen Lam

A general aerial view of San Francisco is seen in San Francisco, California, U.S., October 5, 2017

• New research shows that the San Francisco Bay Area is sinking at a rate of up to 10 millimeters per year in certain areas.
• Coupled with sea level rise, the research shows that much more of the area is vulnerable to flooding by the end of the century.
• Beyond drastically reducing emissions, researchers say there's not much we can do to stop it.

As if there weren't enough reasons to leave the San Francisco Bay Area, parts of the peninsula are literally sinking into the Pacific Ocean, according to new research.

While scientists have long understood that the sea level is rising around the Bay Area, a new paper in the journal Science Advances shows that the land itself is actually sinking through a process called subsidence.

See below for maps showing just how flooded San Francisco could be by the end of the century.