tuvalu flooding case study

A. Salt water has seeped into the island's pulaka pits, which are used to grow the food crop, making the pits unfit for further cultivation. However, most of the older generation do not want to move as they believe the will lose their identity, culture, lifestyle and traditions. -The island main source of food, Pulaka is being killed by Although many studies and . Even if the locals could plant successfully, there is now not enough rain to keep even simple kitchen gardens alive. To assess the timing and location of regional TCs, particularly TC Pam, the IBTrACS (Knapp et al., 2010) database (version 04r0)1 was interrogated for TCs tracks; any portion of which occurred between longitudes 155E and 170W and latitudes of 30S and 10N and between the years 19792019 (the time period of the wave hindcast used in this study, see next section) were retained and defined as regional TCs. . New Elevation Data Triple Estimates of Global Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Flooding. doi: 10.1175/2009BAMS2755.1, Maragos, J., Baines, G., and Beveridge, P. (1973). However, in order to determine local sea level rise (SLR), one has to take into account local coastal flood levels which could be 2.8m above Mean Higher-High Water (MHHW) at extreme forecasts. The TWL is simply calculated as: To calculate 2, we follow the simpler of the two approaches described by Merrifield et al. "Now it's any time of the year." In addition, because the sea level is rising on the islands, Tuvaluans must continually deal with their homes flooding, as well as soil salination. Losi Tuaga, 18, also contemplates and worries about the rising sea levels as tides flood homes, buildings, and parts of the airport, while she stands in ankle deep seawater near her home. 7:546. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00546, Webb, A., and Kench, P. (2010). At Nui (Tuvalu), maximum CgE was not the highest in the entire hindcast record, it was third highest (Figure 5). New predictions of 1 to 2 m sea level rise by 2100 put the archipelago in serious danger of becoming uninhabitable. Farmlands may experience droughts, while deserts could become vast stretches of oases. Urban flooding is possible in areas with easily overwhelmed stormwater drainage systems. A2 Physical Geography - Plate Tectonics and Hazards. It is brackish and salty. Damlamian, H., Bosserelle, C., Raj, A., Begg, Z., Katterborn, T., Ketewai, M., et al. i) reduce the use of coal which accounts for 40% of annual CO2 emissions doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.04.001, Church, J. In a recent essay, former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd suggested Tuvalus citizens could be offered full citizenship in exchange for their countrys maritime and fisheries rights; a proposal rejected by Sopoaga as imperial thinking. FLOOD: CASE STUDIES Structure Learning Outcome Introduction Case Studies 4.2.1 Gorakhpur Floods, 2000 4.2.2 Tsunami Floods, 2004 4.2.3 Mumbai Floods, 2005 Lessons Learnt Conclusion Key Concepts References and Further Reading Activity 4.0 LEA GOUTCOME Already, two of Tuvalus nine islands are on the verge of going under, the government says, swallowed by sea-rise and coastal erosion. Comparison of CFSR, CSIRO and ORAS5 sea surface height values with monthly-median low-pass filtered non-tidal (residual) tide gauge observations. Predictions for future sea-level rise vary. 32 & 30 & 35 & 33 & 31 \\ Inundation Establishment and widespread adaptation of reef island flooding reporting guidelines would be extremely helpful in this regard. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations The severity of these remote impacts was not anticipated and poorly forecasted. Climate change 1. The BBC and Radio Australia have also offered consistent coverage. Take a look at all Open University courses. Even if urgent action for mitigation began now, the sea level will continue to rise for some time. More likely, however, it is due to the highly simplistic approach taken in estimating wave runup and setup (2), which neglects any details of local reef morphology, as well as (other) natural or man-made coastal defenses or shoreline orientation (although the method is capable of the latter). We cant let them.. Commun. 19, 183204. For example, severe flooding was at Nukulaelae (Tuvalu), while TWL empirical AEP level was amongst the lowest of the impacted sites; conversely Niulakita (Tuvalu) which recorded no impacts had a (much higher) event TWL AEP of 10 years. Trees are tilted due to the land being slopped down the ocean. (2014). 1. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. In addition to the TWL and Hb event AEP levels of indicated in Figure 6, wave direction (Dp) associated with each event is also indicated by an arrow indicating the direction waves are traveling at the time of peak Hb. The fourth smallest nation in the world, Tuvalu is home to just 11,000 people, most of whom live on the largest island of Fongafale, where they are packed in and fighting for space. Tropical Cyclone PamHumanitarian Action Plan. Geophys. Since the rising ocean contaminated underwater ground supplies, Tuvalu is now totally reliant on rainwater, and droughts are occurring with alarming frequency. Panaji gets precipitation from the South-West storm between the long stretches of June to September. It should be noted that thus SL omits high-frequency (timescales < 1 month) sea level variability. Suva: Pacific Community (SPC). Tackling Coastal Depositional Features Exam Questi Tackling Coastal Erosion Question (Retry), Success Criteria About Tropical Rainforests(17/5/12), Holderness Case Study (Coastal Management). It examines the contests and conflicts that centre on the estuary in terms of managing the environment for human Test your knowledge about plastics in our oceans, and learn about how they impact the environment by clicking on the image below Liz Wright is a Staff Tutor in the Geography Department at the Open University. But I believe that younger generations intend to migrate for the sake of the future generations.. Maybe one time Tuvalu will disappear. All rights reserved. Tuvalu is a tiny island country located in Oceania about halfway between the state of Hawaii and the nation of Australia. Sea Level Measured by Tide Gauges from Global Oceans the Joint Archive for Sea Level Holdings, Version 5.5. Note Hs, rather breaking wave height (Hb) or total water level (TWL) as these latter quantities follow wave shoaling and breaking across shallow fringing reef, respectively, and the area of Figure 2 (apart from the scattered islands and reefs) contains abyssal ocean depths. Spring tides have steadily gotten higher. Patterns of island change and persistence offer alternate adaptation pathways for atoll nations. Warmer temperatures and changing rainfall will make it harder to produce a reliable source of food to sustain a rising global population. This leads to saline pollution affecting crops and fruit trees. 343224323132332732332830332530282830283230292632332720303334253335272931293334313132323233343229262231313230332931313433. What all this will mean for Tuvalu is pretty clear, especially considering that many parts of the nation currently have an elevation less than one meter above sea level. They also have direct implications for more accurate regional flood hazard analyses in the context of a changing climate, which is crucial for informing adaptation policies for the atolls of the central Pacific. 27 & 32 & 33 & 32 & 29 \\ All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. 33 & 29 & 27 & 34 & 31 \\ Island nations/archipelagos in the area are labeled and their exclusive economic zones (Flanders Marine Institute, 2019), indicated with gray lines. I feel like this is a part of who I am and I shouldnt just run away from it, even though its disappearing. (2010, February). Why/How (Causes of the problem): Climate change is of a concern in Tuvalu since the . Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Maritime Boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones (200NM), Version 11. doi: 10.14284/386, CrossRef Full Text Available online at: https://www.marineregions.org/ | Google Scholar, Ford, M., Merrifield, M. A., and Becker, J. M. (2018). Vila-Concejo, A., and Kench, P. (2017). 100% Success rate 10289 . Other options such as constructing a floating island are also being explored, as is importing refuse from Australian mines to construct an energy wall to ring the atolls, breaking up the power of the sea as it smashes towards the islands. Briney, Amanda. Predicted IMPACTS (SEEP) Evidence please.. -Evacuation of people to the main island of Funafuti, Sea level trends, interannual and decadal variability in the pacific ocean. Unit 4 Tectonic Report: Tsunami Case Studies. coral bleaching. (2006). J. Geophys. Now it is waterfront property. (2014), viz: Where Hb is breaking wave height, calculated using a simplified relation to account for wave refraction and shoaling to breaking depth from the (deep water) Hs provided by the wave hindcasts: In Equation 2, the two empirical coefficients b1 and b0 are assumed a value of 0.3 and 0.1, both near the mean value and within the 95% confidence limits for the two study sites examined in Merrifield et al. Coastal landscapes and change. Evolving Understanding of Antarctic Ice-Sheet Physics and Ambiguity in Probabilistic Sea-Level Projections. Because it fails to understand the implications of this issue for the entire world.. The researchers, who work together on the Sunny Day Flooding Project, used Beaufort's Front Street as a case study to test a new, real-time sensor framework for detecting and measuring coastal flooding. All rights reserved. 33 & 28 & 25 & 32 & 33 \\ Planet. New elevation data triple estimates of global vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. Nature communications 10.1 (2019): 1-12. 127, 8590. Scientists predict Tuvalu could become uninhabitable in the next 50 to 100 years. Hourly significant wave height (Hs), integrated wave energy flux (CgE), peak wave period (Tp) and peak wave direction (Dp) for years 19792019 were extracted from the CAWCR Wave Hindcast, a validated global wind-wave hindcast with increased (approximately 7 km) spatial resolution around the Pacific island nations (Durrant et al., 2014)2 and related collections. Res. The "52 [small island] nations, home to . Fongafale island, home to the Tuvaluan capital, Funafuti. At some (but not all) Tuvalu locations, TC Pam was the largest westerly event. At this time, the islands became known as the Ellice Islands and in 1915-1916, the islands were formally taken over by the British and formed a part of the colony called Gilbert and Ellice Islands. However, the variance of the 30-days median low-pass filtered (observed) residuals is 0.005 m at Tarawa and 0.010 m at Funafuti. (t)=ln(t25t3)\phi(t)=\ln \left(t^{2} \sqrt{5-t^{3}}\right)(t)=ln(t25t3). The westerly wave direction likely contributed to the severity, as did the locally exceptional storm-swell events long duration; the overall timing and duration of the event was modulated by astronomical tides. gov wants to move the rest 10,000 people . Some coastal countries are now disappearing such as the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. 806 8067 22, Registered office: International House, Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XE, A Level Geography Edexcel 18/20/24 markers , I have a gcse geography mock tomorrow and I haven't memorised specific place detail? "A month ago the tide came right here," the sarong-clad old man said, pointing 3 feet away to the lip of his concrete-slab patio. 1. The central value gives an average rate of 2.2 to 4.4 times the rate over the 20th century. Disagreements continue internationally with some big polluters, such as the US, being reluctant to take action to curb their emissions. Ocean. Overall, TWL and Hb were the highest in the hindcast period, with a calculated empirical AEP of 40 years (the highest possible for the time duration of the hindcasts used in this study) for all islands in Kiribati with recorded impacts (Table 1 and Figure 6). I believe we still have time to make this island very attractive, very beautiful, and continue to be inhabited by generations of Tuvaluans to come.. (Mason, n.d.). 9. Areas of the island are flooding that would not have flooded ten or fifteen years ago. o_lewis15. to access more details of Managing coastal environments, to access more details of Plastics in our ocean, BSc (Honours) Geography and Environmental Science. "It used to be puddles. Meteorol. If youre new to university-level study, read our guide on Where to take your learning next, or find out more about the types of qualifications we offer including entry level 1 billion people predicted to not have access to enough water by 2025 due to climate change. The islands of Tuvalu, scattered over 500,000 square miles of ocean between Hawaii and Australia. He petitioned countries around the world to take immediate action on global warming and make the changes needed to stop it in its tracks. New houses are all currently built on 10-foot-tall stilts, something never before seen in the traditional architecture of the island groupings. 95% confidence limits are indicated with dotted lines. The issue of who should take responsibility is one of ethics and moral fairness. Match. Boost this article doi: 10.1007/s11069-017-2957-5, Wandres, M., Aucan, J., Espejo, A., Jackson, N., De Ramon NYeurt, A., and Damlamian, H. (2020). heads inland, -Crops cannot be planted as the seawater intrudes into the Evacuating the islands is the last resort, says Tuvalus prime minister, Enele Sopoaga, despite frequent talk from Pacific neighbours that Tuvaluans will become the worlds first climate-change refugees. These are summarized in Table 1; these locations are also plotted in Figure 2. Changing climate. Scenes of Funafuti: a typical home, and freshly caught fish. Coastal erosion is destroying productive farmland (2010, April 22). The Types of Flood Events and Their Causes, Official Listing of Countries by World Region, M.A., Geography, California State University - East Bay, B.A., English and Geography, California State University - Sacramento. Keep in mind that the country's highest point is less than 5 meters. (2007). South Pacific Ocean NE of Australia; coral atoll; 10-12000 people; 5 m max elevation. More frequent coastal flooding is a direct impact of sea-level rise. In general, a lack of long-term data does exist in the case of Pacific sea levels, along with the uncertainties involved in sea-surface temperatures. A. Tuvalu's climate is tropical and is moderated by easterly trade winds from March to November. 2. "Salty," he says. Washington, DC: USAID. Climate induced hazards such as rising sea levels, cyclones, tsunamis, droughts, flooding, king tides and saltwater intrusion have been an ever-increasing menace for the country. The accuracy of these TWL components were independently assessed using tide gauge and satellite altimetry observations; it also includes an empirical wave runup estimate. Coastal areas are perceived to be at risk of increasingly frequent and severe flooding and erosion impacts associated with sea level rise (SLR). Social Impacts: Res. Available online at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/vanuatu_tc_pam_hap.pdf (accessed January 15, 2020). some low . The threshold for this analysis is the 99.5% quantile. Polar bears have to swim further. 22 terms. Global sea-level rise is caused by the melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica and the expansion of seawater as it heats up (Humphreys, 2019a). may road is flooded on funafuti. Sci. Stemming the tide. He is raising money to build a new settlement on the Fijian island of Kioa. I'll plant as long as I live," he says. 3. Sea-level rise and its possible impacts given a beyond 4C World in the Twenty-First Century. However, when combined with SL and tide it created the highest TWL in the record (Figure 5). Subsistence farming is practiced in Tuvalu and to produce the largest agricultural yield possible, pits are dug out of the coral. A Bayesian-based system to assess wave-driven flooding hazards on coral reef-lined coasts. A recent study found that the dominant mode of island change in Tuvalu over the past four decades (1971-2014) has been island expansion, albeit with both erosion and accretion detected on parts of shorelines (Kench et al., 2018). One of the smallest islands, called Te Pukasavilivili actually disappeared in 1997. Idier, D., Bertin, X., Thompson, P., and Pickering, M. D. (2019). From what I can see a lot is already gone. They all also come with a low enough computational cost to be widely applied to the approach presented in this paper, e.g., by using the kind of long-term hindcast data presented here as boundary condition to establish much more locally relevant extreme value analysis-thresholding. Radio stations around the world have kept a vigil with the people of Tuvalu. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aap9741, Taupo, T., and Noy, I. It's no good." How is climate change affecting sea levels? During storm surges or the highest tides, the Pacific Ocean bubbles up from the sandy soil under Enna Siones small yellow house. In this study, we link a widespread series flooding, island overwash and erosion events in 2015 in the atoll nations of Tuvalu and Kiribati to locally extreme values of total water level (TWL), composed of regional sea-level, astronomic tide and wind-wave components. 32 & 25 & 27 & 33 & 22 \\ HyCReWW: a hybrid coral reef wave and water level metamodel. 1. Sets found in the same folder. Suria Eusala Paufolau (left, or above on mobile), acting chief of public health, says cases of fish poisoning began to climb a decade ago; around the same time the weather really started to go haywire. doi: 10.1007/s10712-011-9119-1. There is also further reason to use such an approach, i.e., to describe (or predict) an island flooding and/or erosion event in the context of an extreme value analysis (EVA) of historical baseline data. Improved understanding through development of such tools is generally seen as imperative to understand the continued habitability of atoll islands in the face of sea level rise (Kench et al., 2018; Storlazzi, 2018). 31 & 28 & 33 & 31 & 32 \\ 3.1 Climatic Parameters. Tuvalu translates to "eight standing together" and refers to the eight traditional islands of Tuvalu (Nanumea, Niutao, Nanumaga, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae). doi: 10.1007/s11625-013-0205-9, Egbert, G. D., and Erofeeva, S. Y. All I want is for the bigger countries to respect us, and think of our lives.. HD, JA, and MW contributed data and other information, as well as assisting with writing and analysis. Many say they have nightmares that the sea will soon gobble them up for good, and not just as a distant fear in their slumber but by the next generation. Explore the overview for a general context of how climate change is affecting Tuvalu. The international best track archive for climate stewardship (IBTrACS). (2016). Formerly known as the Ellice Islands, the nation achieved independence from Great Britain in 1979. Res. Res. The data are given below. What is the population and economy in Tuvalu? Fisherpeople have noticed rising sea levels and eroding shorelines as the island atolls shrink, some to half their original size. He dips a finger into the water that runs in a shallow drainage channel. That's new," Margaret Bita, 45, told a visiting reporter after Sunday church services. It consists of five coral atolls and four reef islands but none are more than 15 feet (5 meters) above sea level. A., and White, N. J. Edwards, T. (2017) Future of the Sea: Current and Future Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the UK, FORESIGHT, Government Office for Science, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/663885/Future_of_the_sea_-_sea_level_rise.pdf, Humphreys, D. (2019) Climate Change: an introduction to a heated debate, Chapter 1, in Jehlicka, P. and D. Humphreys, D. (Eds) Environmental Policy in an International Context, Milton Keynes, The Open University, Jehlicka, P. and D. Humphreys, D. (Eds) (2019 Glossary, in Environmental Policy in an International Context, Milton Keynes, The Open University, Mason, M.K.

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tuvalu flooding case study