Scientists are growing increasingly concerned that the Statue of Liberty, along with a fifth of over 700 UNESCO World Heritage sites, may be in danger of going the way of the mythical city of Atlantis.
While the environmental and economic effects of climate change continue to manifest themselves, experts are also getting concerned about the possible cultural implications of the rising sea levels around the world. Researchers have found that many of the world's most iconic landmarks may be partially or completely submerged if the gradual rising of the oceans continues in its present course over the next 2,000 years.
There is currently around 720 UNESCO World Heritage sites around the world and approximately one fifth of these sites are in danger of encroaching sea levels. Famous landmarks that are considered at risk include the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House and even the Tower of London. In total, scientists are concerned over the safety of 136 sites.
"Sea-levels are responding to global warming slowly but steadily because the key processes involved-ocean heat uptake and melting continental ice-go on for a long while after the warming of the atmosphere has stopped," said Ben Marzeion, a professor from the University of Innsbruck and the lead author of the study.
The team that conducted the study say that the theoretical scenario could become reality if global temperatures reach 3°C above pre-industrial temperatures within the next two millennia.
"After 2000 years, the oceans would have reached a new equilibrium state and we can compute the ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica from physical models," said Anders Levermann, a scientist from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and one of the co-authors of the study. "At the same time, we consider 2000 years a short enough time to be of relevance for the cultural heritage we cherish."
Aside from the cultural heritage sites, the rising sea levels also pose a dire threat to many human settlements in coastal areas. According to their findings, around seven percent of the world's population may be living in areas at risk of being submerged in the future. Most of these high risk areas are located in Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and China.
"Our results show that if there is a 3°C temperature increase over the next 2000 years, which seems likely to be reached and is generally considered not to be an extreme scenario, the impacts on global heritage would be severe," added Marzeion.
The team behind the study published its findings in the Institute of Physics' online journal Environmental Research Letters. The team has also discovered that sea levels may continue to rise even after global warming has been halted. The melting of continental ice could continue to progress years after rising atmospheric temperatures have stabilized.
"We've assumed that a heritage site is impacted when at least part of it is below local mean sea-level. However, tides and storm surges may dictate whether or not the site should be protected before sea-levels reach this point."
