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Because islands like O’Ahu are very slowly carried by the magma hot spot that once shapes it, the weight of the island slowly makes it sink into the ocean about 0.6 millimeters a year.
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However, a new study shows that in some areas of O’Ahu, this descent rate can reach up to 25 millimeters per year, approximately 40 times more than expected.
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Researchers believe that this is largely due to some areas, such as the more industrial Mapunapuna region testing, as it was originally built on sediment and artificial filling.
Hawaii’s geological history was historically one of the Ascension. More than a million years ago, when the plate of the Pacific island was moving on a volcanic hot spot rising through the Earth’s crust, the volcanic islands at sea level formed what it eventually became the 50th state of the United States. Now, a new survey at Hawaii University in Manoa reports that the island chain can be the opposite course – literally.
Posted in the magazine Communication Land and Environment, The study analyzes the descent (gradual singing or sinking of an area) on O’Ahu Island, the Pearl Harbor House and the State’s capital, Honolulu. They have found that in some parts of the island, located 185 miles northwest of the big island (or Hawaii), which is located on the hot spot of the island chain, the descent rate was about 0.6 millimeters a year. However also recorded areas that sink stunning 40 times This is approximately 25 millimeters a year. This speed, along with the localized nature of the descent, is what made the researchers raise a few eyebrows.
“Our findings emphasize that suppression is a major but often neglected factor for the evaluation of future exposure to floods,” said the UH Manoa press statement, a leading author of the study. “In the rapidly subsided areas, the impact of an increase in sea level will be felt much earlier than it is calculated earlier, which means that we need to prepare for flooding for a later period.”
Part of the reason for this discrepancy is that industrial areas such as the Mapunapuna region are built on sediment and artificial filling, which, according to researchers, leads to increased sealing compared to other areas of O’Ahu. This descent rate is ahead of the long-term rate of increase in sea level, which is about 1.54 millimeters and can create problems on the region’s coastline on a shorter schedule.
“In places like the Mapunapuna Industrial Region, the descent can increase the flood exposure zone by over 50% by 2050 while compressing the terms of readiness for up to 50 years,” said the UH Manoa, co -author of the study, in a press statement.
Efforts to deal with climate concerns about O’Ahu, such as a scientifically -based community -oriented Climateprepare for increased increase in sea level and increased soil erosion, along with other events caused by climate change, such as wild fires and floods of lightning. While protecting the wetlands and dunes’ ecosystems will help stabilize the coastlines, researchers note that given this about the downhill speed, it will be vital to understanding the true timeline needed to implement these climate adaptation strategies.
“Our research provides critical data that can inform state and district decision -making by helping to improve flood exposures, infrastructure resilience and long -term urban planning,” the UH Mano Fletcher, Co -Autrator, said at a press conference. “This job directly serves Hawaii’s people, ensuring that local adaptation strategies are based on the best available science.”
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