Five Reef Islands Disappeared In The Pacific's Solomon Islands, New Study Says

The rising of sea level caused five islands to vanish in the Pacific's Solomon Islands, according to a new study.

RT reports that the study was published in the Environmental research Letters. Australian researchers are studying the relationship between the wave exposure in the "global sea-level rise hotspot" and the sea level rise. They discovered that the rising waters have taken the islands.

northern forests burn in the unnatural heat, oceans are boiling their corals, five of the solomon islands are gone: https://t.co/gkXREpT1Lz

— hugo reinert (@metaleptic) May 8, 2016

According to a study, there were at least 11 islands in the northern Solomon Islands that either totally disappeared over recent decades or are currently experiencing severe erosion. The researchers assessed 33 islands utilizing the satellite and aerial imagery from 1947 to 2014. They discovered that the rates of shoreline recession were considerably high in areas that were exposed to high wave energy. This indicated a synergetic interaction between waves and the sea-level rise.

The researchers said that the five vegetated reef islands with an area of about five hectares (12 acres) were rarely used by fishermen. On the other hand, Simon Albert, the lead author of the study and a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland that they were not just little sandy islands.

Kayaking to Solomon Islands, South Pacific | Photography by ©Ira Block pic.twitter.com/wsVYRcn4aa — Piclogy (@Piclogy) May 9, 2016

He further said that the rise in sea level will cause erosion and flooding of low-lying islets in the Pacific. He cited that Solomon is considered a sea-level hotspot due to rises that occur almost three times higher than the global average. The communities of Solomon are now adapting to changed conditions.

Rising sea levels blamed for the disappearance of five reef islands in Solomon Islands https://t.co/NdbEDSleJD pic.twitter.com/NUXkyygnLz

— RA Pacific Beat (@RAPacificBeat) May 8, 2016