Artificially raising island heights or building completely new higher islands have been proposed as solutions to sea-level rise in the Maldives and other low-lying nations.
Artificially raising island heights or building completely new higher islands have been proposed as solutions to sea-level rise in the Maldives and other low-lying nations.
Researchers from the University of Southampton, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and TEDI-London, working with Maldivian scientists, show that using simple engineering principals to raise islands or build new ones can help small island nations like the Maldives withstand long-term sea level rise due to climate change.
This approach is consistent with existing practise in the Maldives, as well as demographic trends – the capital Malé and neighbouring islands are attracting a rapidly expanding population as other islands are abandoned.
“Our findings indicate that in the extreme the entire population of the Maldives could live on just two islands that are built at a significantly higher elevation than natural islands to withstand sea-level rise,” said Prof Robert Nicholls, Director of the Tyndall Centre at UEA.
Read more at University of East Anglia
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