Is there any need for a dike to save Melbourne from the rising seas?

Parker, A. (2015) Is there any need for a dike to save Melbourne from the rising seas? Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International, 2 (3). JGEESI.2015.013. pp. 139-157.

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Abstract

The Australian government is still basing policy on the concept that sea level will rise by 1.1 meters along the Australian coastline by 2100. The Department of the Environment has proposed a 10 billion dollar dike to save Melbourne from the hypothetical rising sea. In reality the tide gauges of Victoria are recording average relative rates of rise of less than 1 mm/year, in perfect agreement with the National average. At this rate sea level will rise by only 8.5 cm by 2100 but even this estimate may be too high. The worldwide average sea level rise, based on only tide gauges of sufficient quality and length, is only about 0.25 mm/year, with zero acceleration over the last few decades. Such a rise can be dealt with by local adaption, as in the last 100 years, and there is no need for any engineering structures, let alone the proposed 10'billion dollar scheme with its accompanying environmental and social problems.

Item ID: 42812
Item Type: Article (Short Note)
ISSN: 2454-7352
Keywords: sea level rise; climate change adaption; Melbourne; Australia
Additional Information:

© 2015 Parker; This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Date Deposited: 22 Feb 2016 05:00
FoR Codes: 04 EARTH SCIENCES > 0499 Other Earth Sciences > 049999 Earth Sciences not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9603 Climate and Climate Change > 960399 Climate and Climate Change not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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