The tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, thought to be under threat from sea level rise, has actually expanded in land area over the past 40 years and is likely to continue to be habitable a century from now, scientists say.
Mapping of island size and position shows that Tuvalu has experienced a net increase in land area of 2.9 percent or 73.5ha. Overall 74 percent of islands in the group – a total of 73 – are larger now than 40 years ago.
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Yet sea level rise in the region has been happening at twice the global average over the past 40 years.
“We tend to think of Pacific atolls as static landforms that will simply be inundated as sea levels rise but there is growing evidence these islands are geologically dynamic and are constantly changing,” says Kench.
“The study findings may seem counter-intuitive given that sea level has been rising in the region over the past half century, but the dominant mode of change over that time on Tuvalu has been expansion, not erosion.”
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“On the basis of this research we project a markedly different trajectory for Tuvalu’s islands over the next century, and while we recognize that habitability rests on a number of factors, loss of land is unlikely to be a factor in forcing depopulation of Tuvalu.”
https://maritime-executive.com/article/land-area-of-low-lying-tuvalu-has-increased#gs.zv5Eo5c
Mapping of island size and position shows that Tuvalu has experienced a net increase in land area of 2.9 percent or 73.5ha. Overall 74 percent of islands in the group – a total of 73 – are larger now than 40 years ago.
...
Yet sea level rise in the region has been happening at twice the global average over the past 40 years.
“We tend to think of Pacific atolls as static landforms that will simply be inundated as sea levels rise but there is growing evidence these islands are geologically dynamic and are constantly changing,” says Kench.
“The study findings may seem counter-intuitive given that sea level has been rising in the region over the past half century, but the dominant mode of change over that time on Tuvalu has been expansion, not erosion.”
...
“On the basis of this research we project a markedly different trajectory for Tuvalu’s islands over the next century, and while we recognize that habitability rests on a number of factors, loss of land is unlikely to be a factor in forcing depopulation of Tuvalu.”
https://maritime-executive.com/article/land-area-of-low-lying-tuvalu-has-increased#gs.zv5Eo5c
