In several previous articles such as that of "The most critical points of climate change" I have commented that Spain is one of the countries of the European Union that it is more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. One of the negative effects of long-term global warming is that of rising sea levels.
Therefore, this long-term global problem can have very serious consequences for countries and its coastal stability. Why is Spain so vulnerable to the coast?
Global warming effects
One of the problems of global warming is the melting of the ice caps of the Arctic and Antarctica with the consequent rise in sea level. The economy of Spain is based mainly on the tertiary sector (tourism) and the coastlines are highly populated, so if the sea level rises, there will be numerous problems such as massive flooding. Cities that could disappear due to global warming are a topic that deserves attention, especially those that may be affected by the Rising sea levels.
To this phenomenon produced by global warming, we have to add increased flooding which, with a rising sea level, will be more devastating and will cause much more damage.
Spain is vulnerable due to its highly populated coasts
Until today, the 361 million square kilometers that the oceans occupy have acted in the fight against global warming, since they have been responsible for absorb up to 90% of the heat produced by humans and a third of the carbon dioxide emitted.
Oceans and seas absorb CO2
This occurs due to the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. When there is a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it passes into the water, which acts as a regulator. The problem with this phenomenon is that it generates negative side effects. When there are large amounts of CO2 in the water, they cause their acidification and deterioration of marine ecosystems and the habitat of many species. The influence of acidification on marine biodiversity is an increasingly relevant issue and is related to other phenomena such as change in temperature in the oceans.
One of the most famous and well-known cases of the side effects caused by the absorption of CO2 by the oceans is the bleaching of coral reefs, which can end up dying of starvation. This phenomenon is also reflected in Hawaii's corals.
In fact, the western Mediterranean Sea is the marine region that has the most accumulated anthropogenic carbon dioxide in its deep areas in the world, due to the fact that it is surrounded by humanity and the processes of sinking of cold and dense waters that occur here, which prevents the escape of CO2 to the Atlantic through Gibraltar. Temperatures in Antarctica are also changing, as mentioned in other studies, and this can lead to a significant reduction of ice, as indicated in reports on ice in Antarctica.
What consequences does this have?
Scientists warn of the direct consequences of global warming, such as the melting of the polar caps and glaciers, the thermal expansion of water and the consequent rise in sea level, in addition to increasing maritime storms, which, they predict, will have the effect of a erosion on the beaches, which now they already lose between 60 and 90 centimeters per year. This coastal erosion is a critical factor to consider for urban planning and possible climate refugees in Spain.
Given these consequences, Spain may have climate refugees in the coming years, a reality that could increase, as mentioned in . Furthermore, the fact that periods of drought are longer in the semi-arid areas of the southeast of the peninsula, along with many other factors, especially economic ones, were already the cause of the massive migrations that occurred in Spain in the 1960s.
In a few years, at the current rate of consumption and degradation, the amount of garbage in the sea will exceed that of fishAmong the projects that attempt to stop these serious consequences are the injection of carbon dioxide into deep-sea reservoirs to remove CO2 from the cycle, the exploitation of gas hydrates, whose global reserves are twice those of oil, natural gas and carbon combined, or cleaning the oceans, which currently contain more than five trillion floating plastic fragments. These initiatives are crucial for coastal stability in Spain and must be considered within the context of the impact of climate change in the population
It has also appealed for greater respect for the Spanish marine environment, which has 5% of the world's marine biological diversity, about 200.000 species, of which only 8,6% are protected.
