Global Outlook for Ice & Snow

Mangrove on Erakor Island, Vanuatu. Photo: Topham Picturepoint/TopFoto.co.uk

Figure 6C.9: Male, Maldives. Photo: Bruce Richmond, USGS

Vulnerable sectors, systems and localities

simplistic. While the interiors of many small islands rise to high elevations, settlements, infrastructure and facili- ties are usually concentrated around the coastal perim- eter. In low-lying areas (such as coastal Bangladesh) the adverse consequences of a rising sea level will be felt at least 100 km inland 54 . Variations in relative sea-level rise also need to be considered, especially in large, geologi- cally-complex features, such as deltas.

Small islands and low-lying coastal areas, such as deltas, have long been considered amongst the areas most vul- nerable to sea-level rise 39,50–53 . Low elevation and close proximity to a rising ocean are important collective con- tributors to this vulnerability. But such a view is overly

CHAPTER 6C

ICE AND SEA-LEVEL CHANGE

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