Sea Level Change Landforms

Question 1

Emergent Coastal Landforms

Answer 1

• As land undergoes isostatic recovery/isostatic rebound (newly liberated land from ice rises), former wave-cut platforms and beaches were raised above present sea level.
• Raised beaches (e.g Scotland, Isle of Arran), also known as ‘relic cliffs’.
• The Isle of Arran raised beaches represent changes in sea level change (eustatic change).

Question 2

Submergent Coastal Landforms

Answer 2

• It is essentially the flooding of coastlines.
• Rias
• Fjords
• Dalmatian Coastlines

Question 3

Rias

Answer 3

• ‘Rias’ (sheltered winding inlets with irregular shorelines) take form when valleys of dissected land upland area flood. Common in south-west England, where sea levels rose from the last Ice Age (e.g The Kingsbridge Estuary).

Question 4

Fjords

Answer 4

• Fjords are formed when deep glacial troughs flood from sea level change. They are long and steep sided, with a U cross section. Fjords are much more inland, unlike Rias.

Question 5

Dalmatian Coastlines

Answer 5

• Form when landscapes of ridges and valleys run parallel to the coast.
• When the coastline floods, the valleys flood, leaving the tops of the ridges exposed.
• Best example is the Dalmatian coastline in Croatia.

Question 6

Impact of Sea Level Change in Kiribati

Answer 6

• The nation of Kiribati consists of 33 islands, mostly of low-lying sand and mangrove atolls (some places only a metre over sea level).
• It is predicted many of the islands could be submerged in the next 50 years.
• Sea level is predicted to be rising at 1.2cm a year (4x global average).

Question 7

How is Kiribati is dealing with this issue?

Answer 7

• In 2014, the President of Kiribati bought 20km squared of land on an island in Fiji.
• This is because sea level change has contaminated groundwater and affected the ability to grow crops.
• The land in Fiji shall be used for agriculture, and can become a new home in the future. A ‘migration with dignity’ policy has been introduced by the government for people applying for jobs in neighbouring countries (e.g New Zealand).
• If the islands are submerged, the residents of Kiribati will become environmental refugees.