Tuvalu is sinking below the waves

[ombugge]

You think you have problems? Spare a thought for the people of Tuvalu:

Tuvalu: Borrowed time, shaky foundations | Video

Tuvalu | Culture, History, People, & Facts

[Hartley]

Gee, this paper says that Tuvalu is actually growing in size: Patterns of island change and persistence offer alternate adaptation pathways for atoll nations | Nature Communications

[Hogsnort]

Tuvalu doesn’t look many different from when I was there 45 years ago apart from the runway being sealed and the government minister having a cell phone.
The runway runs through the center of town and was still the crushed coral surface that US Forces built during WW1 when I visited. This limited aircraft to Hercules and a passenger service using a De Havilland 748. There seems to be a lot more shipping in the lagoon.
In 1966 Hurricane Beeby struck the Island and waves washed the Radio Operator out of the radio station to his death.
Tuvalu seamen are employed by a consortium of German Shipowners.

[ombugge]

Tuvalu is not alone:

Kiribati: Fortify to survive

[Hartley]

Really? Kiribati appears to have the same land area (810 km^2) as it did in 1960?

[Jughead]

It is a very well known tactic of coral atoll nations to claim their islands are sinking (hint; they can’t sink) and the dreaded climate change is threatening their very existence. We’ll have to abandon before we are all drowned and wiped off the face of the earth, they say.

It’s just another way to push out the begging bowl to the rich nations that are claimed to have caused this supposedly disastrous climate change to pay for their sins. I have no sympathy. I’ve visited many of them. They need help to become prosperous enough to support themselves, but nobody should listen to the ‘sinking island’ excuse.

The simple lesson of coral islands is that they grow upwards by natural processes as sea levels rise.

[Hogsnort]

Modern living and the increasing supply of fresh water to maintain it threatens the fresh water lens underground. The salt water flows into the space and if not stopped the resulting saline solution will not support life.

[ombugge]

What to do when your homeland is about to disappear under the sea?
Here is what they are doing in Tuvalu:

Tuvalu: The disappearing island nation recreating itself in the metaverse

Tuvalu is going one step further in its attempt to preserve its land and statehood. As the physical reality of the nation slips beneath the ocean, the government is building a digital copy of the country, backing up everything from its houses to its beaches to its trees. It hopes this virtual replica will preserve the nation’s beauty and culture – as well as the legal rights of its 11,000 citizens – for generations to come.

Our land, our ocean, our culture are the most precious assets of our people – and to keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we’ll move them to the cloud – Simon Kofe

[Hartley]

Really? According to the World Bank, Tuvalu has had the same land area since at least 1961. But the whole country is less than 4m above high tide, so typhoons, tsunami, etc. do cause significant damage when they occur, which has been since the beginning of recorded history.