In recent years, the leaders and inhabitants of many small-island nations like Kiribati and Tuvalu have warned that climate change is an existential threat to their homelands, fearing they could disappear under rising seas as the planet warms. But according to research published on Wednesday, small, low-lying islands dotted around the Pacific and the Caribbean – often seen as the places most vulnerable to global warming – can naturally adapt and raise themselves above encroaching waves.
A three-year study led by Britain’s University of Plymouth, which looked at coral reef islands such as the Maldives and the Marshall Islands, found that tides move sediment to create higher elevation, a process that may keep the islands habitable. The world’s tens of thousands of coral reef islands are mostly uninhabited, but are home to about 1 million people who largely rely on fishing or tourism for a living, said Masselink. Although the islands have different structures due to varying weather and wave patterns, they tend to be relatively small, low-lying, sandy or gravel islands sitting on top of a living reef platform. They were formed hundreds of thousands of years ago by waves moving and piling up reef material or sediment to create higher ground – a natural defence mechanism that continues, he noted.
Hideki Kanamaru, natural resources officer with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Asia-Pacific, said the study provided a “new perspective” on how island nations could tackle the challenge of sea-level rise. But even if islands can adapt naturally to higher seas by raising their own crests, humans still need to double down on global warming and protection for island populations, he added.
Source: Trust
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