Last year it became apparent that five islands haddisappeared into the Pacific sea . Part of the Soloman Islands , the low - lie in reef islands were all submerged by rising ocean level , all since the mid-20th century .
The islands were n’t inhabited , but other nearby ones were . On six of these , large areas of commonwealth were completely wash away , and two villages were destroyed by the ever - rising sea .
This worrying trend appears to carry on . A newstudyhas found that even more islands in Micronesia are being drowned by the Pacific Ocean .
Patrick Nunn , Professor of Geography and Associate Director of the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia ’s Sustainability Research Centre , channel a coastal view of islands in Micronesia . He and his squad also spoke to local and looked at satellite images of Pohnpei and its surround islands .
The squad was face at what event rise sea level are having on the region . They ground that expectant islands have completely disappeared .
" There was a noted island nominate Nahlapenlohd , " Nunn wrote inKaselehlie Press . " This island was so with child that in the twelvemonth 1850 it was the site of a pitched battle ; some stories come back that fighters hide behind coconut ribbon to avoid musket bullets . But today , there is no preindication of Nahlapenlohd , not even a mound of backbone scar where it once was . "
Nunn assign the disappearance to lift sea degree , enounce that they have systematically heighten in most parts of the Pacific over the last 50 geezerhood , with a few minor fluctuations .
Many of the islands that have n’t disappeared have still sustain from corroding , including Nahtik which funk by 70 percent and Ros , which has fall behind around 60 percent of its landmasssince 2007 . Nunn and his team think this striking disappearing is due to theBruun effect , where the rising ocean takes sand from mellow component part of the beach , dumping it offshore .
" While it is unmanageable to be certain , the weight of grounds intimate that ocean - level rise is behind the fade and shrinking of the sand islands off Pohnpei ’s southern reef roadblock , " write Nunn .
In more electropositive news , the investigator found hardly any erosion along the shoreline of the main island of Pohnpei , which is protected principally by its fence in mangrove forest .
[ H / T : New Scientist ]
