Dr. John Holdren, president of American Association for
the Advancement of Science, predicts a possible 4-meter sea level rise
by end of the century,16 and Dr. James Hansen, NASA’s head of
Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has stated the likelihood of a
5-meter sea level rise by end of the century.17 (2006, 2007, respectively.)
A
sea level rise of even 1 meter would result in over 100 million
climate refugees and endanger major cities like London, Cairo, Bangkok,
Venice, New York, and Shanghai.18
Examples of countries affected by sea level rise:
Âu
Lạc (Vietnam). At the nation’s rice bowl region, the Mekong Delta,
ocean salt water has encroached an unprecedented 60 kilometers up-river
in 2010, threatening 100,000 hectares of rice.19
Thailand. Seawater is expected to reach Bangkok’s ground level in 25 years. 20(GEodetic Earth Observation Technologies for Thailand: Environmental Change Detection and Investigation, 2010)
Egypt. More than 58 meters of coastline have vanished every year since 1989 in Rasheed.21 (Omran Frihy of the Coastal Research Institute, 2010)
Sea
level rise caused at least 18 island nations to completely disappear
while many more coastal areas are continually threatened.22 More than 40 other island nations are at risk from rising sea levels.23
Sea
level rise threatens half of the world's population living within 200
kilometers of a coastline. Already, low-lying coastal regions and
deltas see effects: 17 million in Bangladesh have fled their homes,
mainly because of coastal erosion. Groundwater sources are contaminated
by saltwater in Israel and Thailand, small island states in the
Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean Sea, and in some of the
world's major deltas, such as the Yangtze Delta and Mekong Delta.24
Ridgwell, A. and Schmidt, D.N. (2010, February 14). Rate of ocean acidification the fastest in 65 million year. Nature Geoscience. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2010/6835.html
Dias, B.B., Hart, M.B., Smart, C.W. and Hall-Spencer, J.M. (2010). Journal of the Geological Society, London, 167, 1-4. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/views/page8336.html
Hance, J. (2008, August 14). Marine ‘dead zones’ double every decade. An article on scientists’ report in the journal Science. Mongabay.com. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0814-hance_hypoxia.html
Butler, R.A. (2005, September 6). Ocean gas hydrates could trigger catastrophic climate change. An article on research presented at the Annual Conference of the Royal Geographical Society. Mongabay.com. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0906-gas_hydrates.html
Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research [CSIRO], the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2008, June 19). Ocean Temperatures And Sea Level Increases 50 Percent Higher Than Previously Estimated. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080618143301.htm
National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre (2010, March 5). VIETNAM: Record drought threatens livelihoods. IRIN. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88320
Sea level rise threatens Egypt’s Nile Delta & Alexandria. (2010, November 15). An article on Omran Frihy of the Coastal Research Institute study. Reuters. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/11/15/126221.html
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