A new report in the journal Environmental Research Letters has found that sea-level rise driven by climate change could threaten a number of cultural landmarks across the world, including the Statue of Liberty in New York to the Tower of London or the Sydney Opera House.
“The physical processes behind the global rise of the oceans are gradual, but they will continue for a very long time,” climate scientist Ben Marzeion, said in the news release. “This will also impact the cultural world heritage.”
The scientists calculated the probable sea-level increase for each degree of global warming and identified territories where UNESCO World Heritage sites will be placed at risk in the future. Marzeion and Anders Levermann, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, wanted to concentrate on how climate changes might affect our cultural heritage.
The researchers found that if global average temperatures rise by 1 degree Celsius, over 40 of these sites will be at risk of being swept by the water during the next two thousand years.
“One hundred and thirty six sites will be below sea-level in the long-run in that case if no protection measures are taken,” Marzeion said. “The fact that tides and storm surges could already affect these cultural sites much earlier has not even been taken into account.”
The study team said climatologists must also start to consider the different regional rates of sea level rise.
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