The stark reality : global warming exists
We may be waving goodbye to Pacific Island nations sooner than we thought
Rising sea levels due to climate change may inundate low-lying Pacific island nations far earlier than had previously been predicted, according to a new study.
Existing computer models rely on what scientists call “passive bathtub inundation” to predict how an increase in sea levels will flood low-lying islands.
In other words, the sea would slowly cover the islands, much like a bathtub filling up with water.
But scientists at the US Geological Survey used a new model that takes into account how storm driven-waves and cumulative sea level rise would affect Midway Atoll and Laysan Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
That model shows 91% of Midway Atoll’s Eastern Island would be inundated if the oceans rise 2 meters (6.6 feet), where the bathtub scenario says 19%.
Bathtub models had predicted that low-lying islands would remain above water for another 50 to 150 years.
