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. & Schmidt, D. N. (14. Februar 2010). Rate of ocean acidification the fastest in 65 million year. Nature Geoscience. Abgerufen am 11. Januar 2011 von http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2010/6835.html
Dias, B. B., Hart, M. B., Smart, C. W. & Hall-Spencer, J. M. (2010). Journal of the Geological Society, London, 167, 1-4. Abgerufen am 11. Januar 2011 von http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/views/page8336.html
Hance, J. (14. August 2008). Marine ‘dead zones’ double every decade. Ein Artikel über einen Bericht von Wissenschaftlern im Science Journal. Mongabay.com. Abgerufen am 11. Januar 2011 von http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0814-hance_hypoxia.html
Butler, R. A. (6. September 2005). Ocean gas hydrates could trigger catastrophic climate change. Ein Artikel über Forschungsergebnisse, die bei der jährlichen Konferenz der Royal Geographical Society präsentiert wurden. Mongabay.com. Abgerufen am 11. Januar 2011 von 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 (19. Juni 2008). Ocean Temperatures And Sea Level Increases 50 Percent Higher Than Previously Estimated. ScienceDaily. Abgerufen am 11. Januar 2011 von http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080618143301.htm
National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre (5. März 2010). VIETNAM: Record drought threatens livelihoods. IRIN. Abgerufen am 11. Januar 2011 von http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88320
Sea level rise threatens Egypt’s Nile Delta & Alexandria (15. November 2010). Ein Artikel über eine Studie von Omran Frihy vom Coastal Research Institute. Reuters. Abgerufen am 11. Januar 2011 von http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/11/15/126221.html