Australia is primarily a coastal society. A majority of its population stay near the coastal regions. These coasts are of major economic, social as well as ecological importance of the continent. It is extremely important for the people of Australia to understand the impact of the climate change that might affect coastal regions. Australian scientists and the experts are making significant analysis and assessments in association with the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the expected consequences, which might be unfavourable for the coasts of Australia and the response strategies associated with it.
Serious risks for human settlement near the coasts
Thousands of settlements have been developed along the Australian coastline and the hope is that the structure and the geographical and climate conditions of the near future will not be prone to extreme changes. That can threaten the low-lying coastal populations.
However, with the recent changes in the weather conditions and the extremities of the climate, people are not only scared of the dangers which might affect them but they are also beginning to shift their base elsewhere in the fear of natural calamities. Residents of Suffolk Park in Byron Bay, Northern NSW recently voiced their concerns about rising sea-levels and the coastal developments of the regions at a local community meeting on climate change.
Estuaries and wetlands expected to be affected
The coastal systems which might get affected the most are the coral reefs, wetlands and the beaches. Lagoons, rivers and lakes might also shift tidal movement inland owing to sharp increase in sea levels.
Such changes in the Australian coastal environments might also lead to minimisation of the habitat for varieties of bird species, which often take shelter in these areas for recuperation, feeding and nesting.
Even the Australian Government along with the Department of Climate Change and Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) has identified the risks to coastal life and has deduced that low-lying areas are the most vulnerable areas that need attention now.
A sea-level visualization tool has also been applied in order to find out the intensity of the damage, which might be caused due to potential flooding caused due to rise in sea level.
Government strategies for forming imagery
The Australian Government has come up with SPOT High Resolution Stereoscopic Reference3D for appropriate satellite resolution of the coastal regions. The government has also put forth a portal in association with CRCSI and Geoscience Australia for gathering elevation data to assess risks in the Australian low-lying coastal areas. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) had been conceptualised for effective evaluation of coastal risk assessment tasks.
Experts Warn Australia
Various climate experts state that:
- There may well be a drastic drop in rainfall near the south-west Western Australian coastline due to immense increase of greenhouse gas in the years to come.
- There has already been an increase in summer rainfall along the north-west Australian coast. This was primarily due to aerosol particles in the air.
- Less rainfall and reduced run-offs in the southeast Australia seems to be the norm, due to global warming.
Naturally, it has become essential that governmental authorities and institutions take due steps and initiatives to restrict the continent from climatic affects in the coastal areas. Hence, plans and propositions for safeguarding the coastal areas of Australia has become one of the high-priority tasks for the government.
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