Global Outlook for Ice & Snow
Vulnerability of water resources
6C.10 illustrates the direct impacts on the water resourc- es sector, as well as the plethora of higher-order impacts which affect not only that sector but most, if not all, oth- er sectors including health, transport and agriculture.
The water resources of small islands and low-lying coastal areas are very susceptible to sea-level rise. Figure
Sea-level rise
Surface water
Groundwater
Geohydraulic regime
Saltwater intrusion
Saltwater contamination • estuaries • streams • rivers • land
Hydraulic regime • river discharge • sedimentation • inundation
• hydraulic heads • seepage
• coastal aquifers • water lenses
• flooding • erosion
Impacts on...
Impacts on...
• human health and well-being • water supply • drainage • shipping • ecosystems
• human
• water supply • agriculture • horticulture • ecosystems
• human health and well-being • economy
settlement • infrastructure
• planning • economy
Figure 6C.10: Effects of sea-level rise on water resources of small islands and low-lying coastal areas. Source: Based on Hay and Mimura 2006 68
CHAPTER 6C
ICE AND SEA-LEVEL CHANGE
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