Antarctica’s potential collapse could damage coastal cities across the globe

Re:Antarctica’s potential collapse could damage coastal citi... by geomark on Monday May 22, 2017 @07:16AM (#14392565)

Doesn't get much coverage outside of Thailand, but there is a low lying coastal area called Khun Samut Chin that has been inundated by ocean for a distance of about 1km over the last couple of decades. It is a bit of a tourist destination now because while all of the houses have been moved to higher ground over the years there is a temple that is isolated out in the middle of the water.

They say it is a combination of rising sea level and erosion. It might happen that way other places in the future, where a slight increase in sea level causes high tides and storm surges to reach father inland, resulting in land being washed away.

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Re:Antarctica’s potential collapse could damage coastal citi... by rgbrenner on Monday May 22, 2017 @12:46PM (#14395039)

A map of that area (the red dot is the temple.. left is 70s, center 90s): https://witnesstreephotography.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/m...

We have an area similar to that in the US..

Louisiana 1932: https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/LandLossinSouthe...

and in 2011: https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/LandLossinSouthe...

And land loss along the atlantic coast: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/atlantic-coast

And increased coastal flooding (note, some cities being flooded 40 days out of the year.. thats pretty significant): https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indica...

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Re:Antarctica’s potential collapse could damage coastal citi... by aaron695 on Monday May 22, 2017 @10:33AM (#14393864)

"A study published in 2009 by the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates that human factors are causing deltas in Asia and America to sink significantly. The study concludes that this problem is exacerbated by sediments being trapped upstream by reservoirs and dams, man-made channels and levees that whisk sediment into the oceans beyond coastal floodplains, and the accelerated compacting of floodplain sediment caused by the extraction of groundwater and natural gas."

People always mention 'rising sea levels' with loss of land but it seems to me the real issue is local human behaviour.

http://www.deltatimes.org/doc/deltatimes/turning-the-tide.pd...

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Re:Antarctica’s potential collapse could damage coastal citi... by geomark on Monday May 22, 2017 @07:46PM (#14397749)

Indeed. This is known to be a factor in the Bangkok area. Huge amounts of ground water are pumped from the aquifer and the land is subsiding as a result. It is making the a annual local flooding problem during rainy season worse, particularly when there is heavy runoff during a high tide.

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