Coral Reef Islands, that is, islands that have been formed upon a foundation of coral, are among the lowest-lying islands on Earth – typically only a few feet above sea level. One such group of Islands, The Maldives, are said to be severely threatened by an impending rise in our oceans. However, intriguing new research sheds light on how sea-level rise was in fact what allowed these islands to form in the first place.
A research team led by Dr. Holly East, of the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences at Northumbria University, Newcastle, shed some light onto the work they’re doing in a recent article published by Science Daily.
“Coral reefs are typically believed to be highly vulnerable to rising sea levels…however, we have found evidence that the Maldivian rim reef islands actually formed under higher sea levels than we have at present. This gives us optimism that if climate change causes rising sea levels and increases in the magnitude of high-energy wave events in the region, it may actually create the perfect conditions to reactivate the processes that built the reef islands in the first place.”
This comes as a ray light in an otherwise very dark, and dismal outlook of consequences stemming from climate change. However, there is, as usual, a catch. That catch being that in order for this process to occur, there needs to be an abundance of healthy coral material available – something that is becoming much more scarce due to recent coral bleaching events and warmer ocean temperatures.
“Corals face a range of threats under climate change,” East explains, “including increased ocean temperature and acidity. If the reef is unhealthy, we could end up with the perfect building conditions, but no bricks.”
It’s not simply the health of the reefs that pose potential obstacles. One main ingredient for this process is the occurrence of a high-energy wave event. Dr. East goes on to add, this event has the potential to destroy the infrastructure already existing on the islands, making them uninhabitable.
Overall it’s hopeful news that the beauty of our earth in the form of these incredible islands and the ecosystems they support have to ability to survive through the changing climatic conditions. But for now that is all this is, hope.
EcoTech 