Revision notes for “Maldives and Rising Sea Level” Case study
These were
your
homework
instructions
The causes of Sea Level Rise
You need to know 3 reasons all caused initially by Global Warming
a) As the sea water is warmed it then expands. This means it is taking up more space
and so sea level rises.
b) Ice Caps and Glaciers melting. This is ice up on the mountains. It melts and then
flows into the sea. Likely to cause 10-12 cms of sea level rise in the 21st century
c) Loss of land ice in Greenland and Antarctica. This ice is also melting. It will also flow
into the sea and cause it to rise.
The effects of sea level rising in the Maldives
a) Coastal flooding is the main effect to know about. All of the Maldives are below 2
metres above sea level. So they are very vulnerable to sea level rise and flooding –
like that happened during the Asian tsunami of boxing day 2005. (if you haven’t
found out about the effects of this on the Maldives, do so it is easy to find.)
b) Tourism is the islands’ biggest earner. If resorts are flooded and beaches destroyed
or people stay away they will be affected economically
c) Similarly, fishing earns the country money and feeds the population. Rising sea levels
threaten the coral reefs and its ecosystem and so have lowered fish numbers in the
area.
d) Politically it puts the government under a lot of pressure to sort it out. This in Feb
2012 the president was removed in what some have called a coup. People will be
forced to migrate to another country eventually. Where will they go? This is difficult
position for any government