Rising sea levels have major implications for coastal gardens. Yesterday’s king tide gave us the perfect opportunity to see what will be commonplace by 2050. One corner of the world that is experiencing greater than average sea level rises is north eastern Australia.
Even if all greenhouse gas emissions ceased immediately, oceans respond very slowly. As water warms it expands, occupying more space, while melting ice caps and glaciers further add to ocean volumes.
Sea level rises are not uniform, in part due to the unequal effect of tidal surges and also the unequal influence of our magnetosphere. Cairns, the Torres Strait and the Gold Coast are particularly vulnerable, but sea front gardens all around Australia face a simple choice: adapt or fail.
Have a look at this ABC 7.30 Report (transcript and video) for insight into this issue, or read local coverage on yesterday’s king tide at the Courier Mail.
While all this information is useful, remember that all bets are off if the Greenland or Antarctic ice sheets melt. These will create a tipping point from which there’s no return. My place, ‘Bellis‘, is 1 km inland and about 9 metres above sea level. The loss of either ice sheet will create a 7 metre sea level rise and all 154 million people in Bangladesh will become refugees along with people from most low lying coastal cities. I never expected to live in a sea front property…
Jerry Coleby-Williams
13th January 2009
Posted in Brisbane City Council, Climate, Current Events, Food Security, Gardeners, Gardening Australia, Remedies, Sustainability, Water Tagged: Antarctic ice sheet, auricaria, Australia, Bangladesh, Brisbane, climate, Climate change, Current sea level rise, Environment, Global Warming, Greenland, Jerry Coleby-Williams, King Tides, Melaleuca, Norfolk Island Pine, Queensland, Royal Botanic Gardens, saline soil, salt damage, science, Sea level, Sydney, Torres Strait
