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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