Posted on July 30, 2007 in Latest News
Global warming is not just affecting glaciers at the poles; it is also affecting marine life and coastlines. These rising waters are threatening to swamp half of existing Pudget Sound estuary beaches, and are proving to be havoc to the habitat present there. The damages of these rising waters include inundation of beaches where open rivers meet, disappearance of tidal flats and loss to 25% of tidal fresh marsh.
Not only this they prove to be dangerous to business and workers who depend on coastal habitats for survival.
Thousands of acres of fresh water marshes are predicted to turn into salt marshes by experts. The situation will get worse as other marsh lands are predicted to completely disappear. Global temperatures will cause oceans to rise about 2 feet by 2100 say experts.
Puget Sound scientists say geologic forces cause some land around Puget Sound to sink while other rises. So the impact of higher seas would vary dramatically from Cape Flattery to Olympia.
Climate change just does not mean Rising Seas. Warmer and reduced fresh water caused by a melting glacier could create problems even for adaptable species. Warmer temperature cause changes in river flow altering water to change salinity and density. This affects the growth of the microscopic plants on which tiny sea creatures feed. This in turn affects the entire food chain.
All these consequences will further affect us humans in a major way if we do not take precautions soon.
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