A DROWNING ISLANDS FALSEHOOD
Scientists documenting the recent growth of hundreds of islands in the Pacific say the research could help climate-vulnerable nations adapt to global warming in the future. Research by the University of Auckland found atolls in Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Kiribati and the Maldives archipelago have grown up to 8% in size over the past six decades, despite sea level rise. The scientists used satellite images of islands as well as on-the-ground analysis to track the changes. Jan ’21
New research says hundreds of islands in the Pacific are growing in land size reported by the ABC.
Key points:
- Coral reef sediment was responsible for the increase in land size
- Waves sweep up the sediment and deposit it on islands
- However some islands are becoming smaller due to coastal erosion
“All the islands that we’re looking at, and the atoll systems, comprise predominantly of the broken up corals, shells and skeletons of organisms on the coral reef, which waves then sweep up and deposit on the island,” he said. Dr Kench said in areas where coral reefs were healthy, enough sediment was being produced to cause islands to grow.
“The majority of islands in each of those nations has either got larger or stayed very similar in size,” he said. “So, you know, one of the remarkable takeaways of the work is that these islands are actually quite dynamic in a physical sense.”
Healthy coral reefs key to growth
Coastal erosion from rising sea level is considered a major threat to many Pacific communities, with some already watching shorelines recede.
Coastal geomorphologist Dr Paul Kench said coral reef sediment was responsible for building up the islands.
The majority of islands in each of those nations has either got larger or stayed very similar in size,” he said.
“So, you know, one of the remarkable takeaways of the work is that these islands are actually quite dynamic in a physical sense.”
Coastal erosion from rising sea level is considered a major threat to many Pacific communities, with some already watching shorelines recede.
Dr Kench said only 10 per cent of islands captured in the study had gotten smaller in size.
He said a better understanding of which islands are growing and which are eroding could help Pacific nations adapt to climate change.
“That gives the island nations some power to think about adaptation strategies about where do you focus further development and you would perhaps choose those islands which we can demonstrate are actually growing in size,” he said.
Dr Kench said there was more work to be done in understanding other factors influencing the growth or reduction of Pacific islands.One concern is the degradation of coral reefs from global warming
“While we can look at sites that are healthy, and the sediment production that’s creating the islands is still taking place, there has to be some concerns at those locations where the reefs are in poor condition,” he said.
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The New South Wales state government in Australia has announced it will tell its local councils that not only are they not bound by the IPCC sea-level predictions, they must do their own research on their own beaches. It’s the polite way of saying that no one believes the IPCC predictions anymore, worse, that they are so sure the IPCC is wrong that councils have to get different advice. For the IPCC it’s just one more signpost on the path to oblivion.