maldives case study a level geography

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Preparing for Rising Seas in the Maldives

February 3, 1997 JPEG

February 19, 2020 JPEG

February 3, 1997

February 19, 2020

With more than 80 percent of its 1,190 coral islands standing less than 1 meter above sea level, the Maldives has the lowest terrain of any country in the world. This makes the archipelago in the Indian Ocean particularly vulnerable to sea level rise.

With global sea level rising 3 to 4 millimeters per year, and that rate expected to rise in coming decades, some analysts anticipate a grim future for the Maldives and other low-lying islands. One study concluded that low-lying islands could become uninhabitable by 2050 as wave-driven flooding becomes more common and freshwater becomes limited. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes anticipates sea level could rise by about half a meter by 2100 even if greenhouse gas emissions are sharply reduced or rise up to 1 meter if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase strongly.

While the Maldives government has explored plans to purchase land on higher ground in other countries as an insurance policy against sea level rise, planners are also working to enhance the resilience of the country’s current islands. One example is Hulhumalé, a newly constructed artificial island northeast of the capital, Malé.

The pair of Landsat satellite images above show just how much the area has changed between 1997 and 2020. Construction of the island, designed to relieve crowding in Malé, began in 1997 in a lagoon near the airport. Since then, the island has grown to cover 4 square kilometers, making it the fourth largest island in the Maldives. Hulhumalé’s population has swollen to more than 50,000 people, with 200,000 more expected to eventually move there.

The new island, built by pumping sand from the seafloor onto a submerged coral platform, rises about 2 meters above sea level, about twice as high as Malé. The extra height could make the island a refuge for Maldivians who are eventually driven off lower-lying islands due to rising seas. It could also prove to be an option for evacuations during future typhoons and storm surges.

There is one piece of positive news: natural processes on coral reef atolls (like those in the Maldives) might make the islands more resistant to sea level rise than their low elevations might initially suggest. Multiple studies, many of which use Landsat observations, show that most coral atoll islands in the Maldives and elsewhere have remained stable or even grown larger in recent decades.

Scientists are still studying why, but some research indicates that storms and floods that wash over islands can move offshore sediment onto the island surface, building the island up in the process. Other research shows that healthy coral reefs can grow upward even when seas are rising by producing abundant sediment.

“The key thing to understand is that these islands aren’t static. They don’t sit passively as if they were in a bathtub and slowly drowning,” said Murray Ford, a geologist at the University of Auckland. “They are constantly being reshaped by oceanographic and sedimentary processes.”

These natural processes may offer only limited protection to highly developed islands, partly because the construction of sea walls can disrupt the movement of sediment and human activity often degrades the health of coral reefs. “Once an island is on an engineered pathway, it can’t easily get off it. Islands that are being built on reclaimed land must factor in sea level rise and build higher off the ground,” said Murray. “For islands that are unpopulated, or sparsely populated, care should be taken to not interfere with the natural ability of islands to adjust to changes in sea level.”

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey . Story by Adam Voiland .

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A new artificial island near Malé could be a destination for people trying to escape rising waters on lower-lying islands.

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References & Resources

• Brown et al. (2019) Land raising as a solution to sea-level rise: An analysis of coastal flooding on an artificial island in the Maldives . Journal of Flood Risk Management , 13 (S1), e12567.
• BBC (2020) A new island of hope raising from the Indian Ocean . Accessed April 8, 2021.
• Duvat, V. et al. (2018) A global assessment of atoll island planform changes over the past decades . Climate Change , 10, e557.
• Duvat, V. & Magnan, A. (2019) Rapid human-driven undermining of atoll island capacity to adjust to ocean climate-related pressures . Science Reports , 9, 15129.
• Ecowatch (2020) Coral Reefs Are Still Growing Atolls Despite Sea Level Rise . Accessed April 8, 2021.
• Ford, M. et al. (2020) Active Sediment Generation on Coral Reef Flats Contributes to Recent Reef Island Expansion . Geophysical Research Letters , 47 (23) e2020GL088752.
• Holdaway, A. et al . (2021) Global-scale changes in the area of atoll islands during the 21st century . Anthropocene , 100282.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2019) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate . Accessed April 8, 2021.
• Masselink, G. et al . (2020) Coral reef islands can accrete vertically in response to sea level rise . Science Advances , 6 (24).
• New Scientist (2017) On front line of climate change as Maldives fights rising sea . Accessed April 8, 2021.
• Moosa, A. et al . (2020) Design response to rising sea levels in the Maldives: A study into aquatic architecture . Frontiers of Architectural Research , 10 (1), 222-223.
• NASA Sea Level Change . Accessed April 8, 2021.
• NASA EarthData (2021) Sea Level Change Data Resources . Accessed April 8, 2021.
• Storlazzi, C. et al . (2018) Most atolls will be uninhabitable by the mid-21st century because of sea-level rise exacerbating wave-driven flooding . Science Advances , 4 (4), 9741.

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Case Study: Rising Sea Levels in the Maldives

As level geography for the WJEC syllabus.

A short fact-file on rising sea levels in the Maldives. Can be used as a case study for rising sea levels and the impacts of the melting of the Arctic ice caps.

• Created by: Ellie
• Created on: 04-05-11 21:38
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Mount Etna 2002 Case Study A-Level Geography OCR

Subject: Geography

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

18 April 2024

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This 3 page case study consists of three sections (facts at a glance, impacts, and recovery), all of which are valuable knowledge to students studying A-Level Geography OCR. This particular Mount Etna case study is for the Hazard Earth topic.

This case study will help students get an understanding of the different ways in which volcanic eruptions can impact an area as well as the effects eruptions have socially, environmentally, and economically. This knowledge will be valuable to students in the summer exam series.

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A-Level geography is a great subject for A-Level students to learn. It teaches them a range of topics from different landscape systems, understanding food around the world, migration patterns, and more. All of which will be used by students throughout their careers and beyond.

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Included is 6 case studies made for the hazardous earth topic of the A-Level Geography OCR specification. The six case studies include: - Chile Earthquake 2010 - China Earthquake 2008 - Haiti Earthquake 2010 - Iceland Volcanic eruption 2010 - Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011 - Mount Etna Eruption 2002 Each case study covers elements which would be useful for students to know for each case study that can be applied in the exam. Examples include recovery methods, reasons for vulnerability, impacts, causes, and more. Each case study is 2/3 pages and they all include a short header section which includes a list of facts for students to memorize to gain extra marks in the exam. A-Level geography is a great subject for A-Level students to learn. It teaches them a range of topics from different landscape systems, understanding food around the world, migration patterns, and more. All of which will be used by students throughout their careers and beyond. Who are Phillips Resources? At Phillips Resources we use your feedback to create the highest quality and most desired resources so that students can get the grades they desire and teachers are trusting in the resources they use and also are left stress free from not having to create their own resources as often.

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