Due to the rising water levels in Fiji, there is increased coastal erosion and effects and risks of flooding causing increased efforts in seawall construction and evacuation of coastal villagers to new homes.
The relationship between rising ocean levels and coastal erosion in Fiji has not been confirmed due to insufficient data on the long-term ocean levels of Fiji. However, according to researched done by the NSW parliament library, there has been a general trend that sea level rises tends to lead to increased rates of erosion and ultimately shoreline retreat. (Smith)
From 1960, coastal villages in Fiji have increased their numbers of seawalls in order to protect their homes from the increased rates of shoreline retreat or coastal erosion. As shown in Figure 1, from before 1960 to 1980, the total amount of seawalls constructed by the twenty-nine villages studied by Nubuo Mimura and Patrick D. Nunn increased by a 7 fold. With time, Fiji is experiencing stronger impacts from the increasing rates of coastal erosion.
Also, due to shoreline retreat, there have been cases of relocation of homes in villages such as Nukui on Viti Levu Island, the main island of Fiji, due to shoreline retreat. In Nukui, sea encroachment is a serious problem - the village is less than 0.5m above sea level and is generally surrounded by the sea and mangrove swamps for it is located at the mouth of the Rewa Delta. The villagers have limited farming and housing space with no other place to go. In order to have a place to stay, the villagers of Nukui have been required to moves their homes away from the shores.
The risks and damages of flooding are assumed to increase with the general rises in ocean levels. With higher ocean levels, it is easier for oce...
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...h Pacific to sea level changes. As an example, Mr. Nobuo analyzed the Togatapu Island of Tonga, which has similar elevations to the islands of Fiji. Togatapu Island was flooded by a storm surge of 2.8m during cyclone Isaac in 1982. Mr. Nobuo predicted that if a similar event was to occur to Togatapu Island with a 0.3m rise in ocean levels, an additional 3,000 people would be at risk; another 1 m increase, an additional 9,000 people.
In conclusion, it is not possible to conduct an accurate analysis on the effects of rising ocean levels on Fiji due to insufficient data. This conclusion has been reached by researchers such as Nobuo Mimura. However, provided examples with similar conditions to Fiji, it is possible to predict the possible effects of the rising water levels on Fiji in the future - increased coastal erosion and increased damages and risks from flooding.
A major flood on any river is both a long-term and a short-term event, particularly any river basin where human influence has exerted "control" over the ri...
and fall of sea level due to tides is the most apparent aspect, it is also the
... consider some ideas of what can be done to further enhance the management of the coastal issue. Using the research action plan, I aim to acquire a sophisticated understanding of longshore drift, coastal management and implementations of coastal issues, through the research action plan. Most importantly, I will include various diagrams explaining how the process of longshore drift occurs and what implementations it has on coastal environments, accompanied by an explanation of how the issue is being managed, a detailed outline of the geographical processes involved and a discussion of the impacts of the issue and why it is important.
The effect of sea level rising is especially challenging for the population that lives in low-lying coastal communities, such as Miami Beach. The city is surrounded by sea. Miami Beach is linked to the mainland city of Miami through causeways, and it is an area that allocates much of the wealth from its art decoration and former celebrity playground standing. For them, funding does not seem to be a problem. However, the threat they are facing, cannot be entirely solved by money. Its sea level rising is at 9 millimeters a year, while there is only 3 millimeters on global average acceleration. If the sea level rises for 6 feet by 2100, Miami Beach city will get swallowed. When referring about sea level rising phenomenon, Miami Beach always acts as a ground zero example. Government leaders around the world are waiting to see how this rich living laboratory experiment place can avoid drowning. Below is a figure showing the sea level rising between 1900 and 2020 in Miami and Miami Beach
Out of the largest 136 coastal cities in the world, Vancouver ranked 11 in terms of future flood damage (ibid) creating concerns for the safety of the human population. The historic sea level rise in Vancouver is 2.0cm/50 years but has jumped to an expected one meter by the year 2100 (“Sea Level Adaptation”, 2013). Majority of Canadians will be living within 20km of the coast with approximately 80% of British Columbians living within 5km (ibid). It is projected that the number of people living near coastlines will increase while will raise the amount of the population vulnerable to climate change trends
Coastal erosion is a growing problem along the Gulf Coast. Louisiana is one of the coastal states most affected by coastal erosion. Ninety percent of wetland loss in the nation occurs in Louisiana, losing 25-35 square miles per year. At that rate, Louisiana will lose 640,000 more acres by 2050. Many factors contribute to this land loss, such as rising sea levels, subsidence, hurricane storm surge, cold fronts, and human interference. Cold fronts and hurricanes can both have detrimental consequences on the coast of Louisiana (Zhang 2004) (Restore or Retreat 2012). This research shows whether cold fronts or hurricanes have a larger effect on coastal erosion. The researcher will describe how historical and current satellite imagery help in determining the changes in the Louisiana coast. Based on previous research, the researcher believes that hurricanes have more of an effect on coastal erosion than cold fronts due to the high winds and storm surge.
Earth, an endless source of wonder and beauty, produced the Great Barrier Reef. Hustling and bustling, the Reef thrives like a busy city, teeming with life. Sheltering thousands, corals, maintain the well-being of the Reef; however, the world threatens its nature and delicacy. Populations growing and technological advances increasing, the world becomes more and more disconnected with the natural world, posing an alarming risk for the planet we live on. Although many organizations try to keep the oceans clean, because of human interference and unnatural occurrences, the Great Barrier Reef needs scientific help to adapt corals to new conditions for means of survival, putting pressure on the Australian government to save their ocean environment.
Leading scientists advise climate change will cause increases to the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Rising sea levels pose a significant risk to coastal communities, while the world’s oceans could become too acidic to support coral reefs and other calcifying marine organisms. Coral reefs contain only six per cent of the area of the Great Barrier Reef, yet they provide critical habitat and food for numerous species in the ecosystem. However, climate change has already impacted coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef as corals are very helpless against its potential impacts. Eight mass coral bleaching events has occurred since 1979, triggered by unusually high water temperatures. And because of this, zooxanthellae (photosynthetic algae) leave their tissues and corals will have no more colours hence ‘bleaching’. Without the zooxanthellae, the corals that remain gradually starve to death. Once the coral dies, fish and a multitude of other marine species are soon affected. Rising sea levels and more frequent and intense storm surges will see more erosion of Australia’s coastline, causing community and residential
With the rising sea level it has already submerged a northwest island in the Hawaii region. This island goes by the name of whale skate. This island has disappeared and the rest of the islands up in that region are at steak for being under water. The islands are housing wildlife that are found nowhere in the world except these islands and most of these animals are endangered.
Semaphore is a classic Adelaide beach supporting many facilities. However, this would not be the case if coastal management was not put into progress. Coastal management is a way of supporting the world’s coasts, by using many techniques from construction of structures in which prevents wave energy from reaching the shore to planned strategies. Factors of this includes; rising sea levels, erosion, long and short term drift, sand movement and marine biology. The importance of coastal management is quite significant as it will help to prevent coastal erosion. In addition to this, without coastal management the world will be affect economically, environmentally as well as socially. Without the strategies involving the management of the coast,
Unfortunately, this natural beauty is being threatened and certain coral species are facing extinction. Hugh Yorkston (Meteorology, 2014), is the Director of ecosystems and water quality group for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. He states that the Great Barrier Reef stretches along 2300 kilometres of the Queensland coast (Meteorology, 2014). And of that 2300 Kilometres, there are 35 major rivers that discharge water into the great Barrier Reef (Meteorology, 2014). The Author resides in Far North Queensland, which is a large farming district; in large farming communities it has become evident through resources such as the eReef project, that the water quality in these areas are less than satisfactory. Dr Jennie Mallela (Observer, 2013), from Australian National University- ANU, has undertaken research to support the decline in water quality in this region. Her research identifies the increase in the amount of phosphorus that is found in coral. Dr Mallela, began studying coral skeletons off Dunk Island in Far North Queensland, for information that may provide insight into the chemical impacts on coral over many years (Observer,
"Ocean Events." GRACE â Uncovering the 2010-11 Decline in Global Mean Sea Level and Its Relation to ENSO (October, 2012). N.p., 8 Oct. 2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
Maldives is a collection of about 1000 islands with a combined mass of 115 square miles occupied by approximately 330,000 people, which is in the Indian Ocean (Hannah, J. A., Muller, P. O., & Nijman, J., 2012). The rise in the sea level is a concern that all of Maldives shares, the islands only set eight feet above sea level at its highest point. Any rise in the sea level would disrupt the country’s economic balance. The rising sea level threatens the beachfront resorts for which most of Maldives economy depends on. Thousands of people every year travel to Maldives to...
RISING SEA LEVEL AND ITS MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS/COASTAL WETLANDS BEING MOST VULNERABLE AND THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES AND IMPACTS (2 PAGES)
Coral reefs are also involved in shielding coastlines from strong waves and currents by slowing down the water before it reaches the shore. They provide a barrier between the ...