The sea swallowed eight of the Pacific Islands
Scientists from Australia, Micronesia, and Fiji found that eight Islands were part of Micronesia, disappeared under the water.
The reasons is the level of the ocean, which has increased due to global warming and increased wave erosion. The results of their study, the researchers said in the Journal of Coastal Conservation.
The ocean level is rising on average three millimetres a year in the Western Pacific ocean due to the natural traits of the prevailing winds, this value can reach 12 millimeters per year.
In 2016 a group of researchers from Australia announced that from the middle of XX century under water disappeared five Islands comprising the state of Solomon Islands.
The authors of a recently published article examined the coast of the Islands of Micronesia, communicated with local residents and compared the satellite images. As a result, they have found at least eight Islands with an area of about 100 m2 each, which disappeared in the period from 2007 to 2014. However, as noted by environmentalists, many small Islands are able to resist the destructive impact of the waves due to the fact that they cover the larger Islands, or by growing them trees.
According to one of the authors, ecologist from the University of the sunshine coast Patrick Nunn, the disappearance of Islands could serve as a warning for inhabitants of regions with a low altitude above the sea level. The rise in sea level is already leading to relocation of residents of several Islands, Papua New Guinea.