Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLE 5.2 Selected Losses from Sea Level Rise and Associated Erosions across Asia
SLR Rise
(from 2000 levels)
Location
Magnitude
Source
0.3 m
China
Huanghe-Huaihe Delta
Changjiang Delta
Zhujiang Delta
81.4
⋅
10
3
km
2
21.3
⋅
10
3
km
2
54.5
⋅
10
3
km
2
5.5
⋅
10
3
km
2
Du and Zhang (2000)
1.0 m
Japan
2.3
⋅
10
3
km
2
Mimura and Yokoki (2004)
1.0 m
Korea
1.2% area
Madsen and Jakobsen (2004)
1.1 m
1.2 m
0.3 m
India and Bangladesh
India and Bangladesh
India and Bangladesh
478 km
2
(11%)
1,396 km
2
(33%)
4,015 km
2
(96%)
Loucks et al. (2010)
from sea level rise has been emerging over the past decade. Table 5.2, for
example, offers estimates for several locations in Asia. Some are located in
important deltas in China where modest sea level rise of 0.3 meters would
cause significant loss of land area from inundation and erosion; others are
located in eastern and southeastern Asia where 1 m of sea level rise would
cause significant loss of land and protective mangroves in addition to putting
many people at risk of displacement. The final entry reports recent estimates
of associated loss in the habitat of the only tiger population in the world
(
panthera tigris
) that is adapted to living in mangroves; Loucks et al. (2010)
report that a nonlinear decline to extinction (at 30 cm) would begin around
15 cm of sea level rise.
Turning to specific locations within the United States, where it is pos-
sible to focus attention on downstream impacts and the potential adapta-
tion, Figure 5.5 first depicts coastal vulnerability to erosion across the mid-
Atlantic region at the end of the century for three sea level rise scenarios.
Enormous variability from site to site along the coastline is clearly displayed;
and so it is obvious that potential risks and the potential for adaptation can
be expected to be equally diverse.
5.3 STREAMFLOW
Runoff is defined as the difference between precipitation and the sum
of evapotranspiration and storage change on or below the land surface. On
long term balance, it must be balanced by precipitation minus evapotranspi-
ration, which also equals atmospheric moisture convergence. Streamflow is
