Final Blog: The future of the Maldives

The Maldives as a nation have a great economy, government, and beautiful landscapes but going through evidence of climate change and rising sea levels will the Maldives be enveloped by the ocean once more? As most continents and landmasses gradually shift and change throughout several thousand to millions of years the Maldives could quite possible disappear in our lifetime.

In my previous blogs I have listed things such as climate change, biological structure of how these atolls were made. If you look carefully you notice how in each blog rising sea levels was a huge factor on the future of these Atolls.

Various things that are affected due to sea level rising:

-Bio erosion -Bio-erosion is a biological force which could be animals, waves, etc. Anything that can break down and structure. Bio erosion is a huge part of how these islands form and which helps shape the landmass. In time Bio-erosion will no longer be relevant due to to higher sea elevation.

- Coral structures that are the foundation of the Maldives become bleached and eventually die off. This is a problem because the structure of the atolls will change dramatically which in turn will stop the production of landmass.

The UN's enviromental panel has warned that, at current rates the sea level would be high enough to make the Maldives uninhabitable by 2100. The oceans are rising by 9mm per year, meaning the islanders will have to abandon their homes by the end of the century. With this gruesome statistic we need to realize that geographical landscapes can shift very rapidly and constantly. Whether it be because of pollution or a catastrophic event atolls like the Maldives are always in danger of becoming enveloped by the ocean.

Sources:

www.climatedata.info/Impacts/sealevels.html

http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/33/2/145.abstract?sid=8591f7d4-19b2-4fb2-aded-3f64332a9ce8

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3930765.stm


Pictures:

http://old.oceanhomemag.com/wp-content/uploads/maldivesmeet.jpg

http://www.travelstore.com/sites/default/files/inline/85images/Maldives%204.JPG

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWEH-ZrBFFerqY2AXBk6QR409RUKw05grKcqZjFbg1n_2Jf4ODW5-loAdfQ2RvAHGm33KYflmjenY9ZrjWYhfk_OyE_Uo_NxL_XotyqDpgnK_mvNvXfJ9K6QkcCatUxzoxBOU2poRdF0/s1600/climate+change+dead+corl+Maldives.jpg

http://qa1.cntraveler.com/dam/blogs/perrinpost/6a00d8341c5a2653ef011571630e6f970c-800wi.jpg

Blogpost 3: Climate and sea level rising

The Maldives are a tropical climate which consists of around 70 to 80 degrees all year long. Humidity is generally high with the wet season experiencing humidity levels of above 80% on average and the dryer months still as high as 75%; this is somewhat tempered by the sea breeze that can be felt almost anywhere on the small, flat islands that make up the Maldives, particularly during February and March when humidity is at its lowest.

As talk about Monsoons within the Maldives, most of you are wondering what is a Monsoon and why is it so important in this region. A monsoon is a wind that shifts going northern or southern depending on the season. This is huge because it determines the weather, climate and rainfall for each season.

Certain characteristics that make the Maldives such a great tropical hot spot is the consistency of the Monsoons. The Monsoons are very mellow and mild compared to other tropical regions.

A great example of a monsoon (note the shifts in the wind movement on the left side)

Northwest Monsoon extending from January to March, during which the weather is predominantly dry and sunny.

The Maldives on a clear day during the Northeast monsoon.

Southwest Monsoon from mid May to November, which is wetter with occasional showers and brief thunderstorms

The Picture above is a great example of a southeast monsoon.

The Maldives location 250 miles (700km) south west of the coast of the India leaves the islands vulnerable to weather patterns from the Asian mainland. Although chances are highly unlikely that these islands will be hit with devastating storms the island faces another issue due to climate change which is the sea level rising. With this gruesome statistic the Maldives are more prone to sinking due to climate change.

The shifts in climate change have caused the sea levels to rise exponentially in the past decade.

Here is an example of one of the atolls slowly being taken by the sea.

Pics:

http://reefrecharge.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Reef-Recharge-Sunny-Day-Maldives.jpg

http://www.maldivestourism.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/baros-maldives.jpg

http://www.dreamingofmaldives.com/maldives-blog/wp-content/uploads/rain-shower.jpg

Sources:

http://megamaldivesair.com/~megamald/img/maldives-weather.gif

http://www.climatedata.info/Impacts/Impacts/sealevels.html

http://www.worldtravelguide.net/maldives/weather-climate-geography

Blogpost 2: Coral Composition the foundation on which it is built on

Intro:

The Maldives in recent years has had several changes in its geophysical state due to

The Maldives has the 7th biggest coral structure in the world with that being

Darwin's theory was the coral structures that comprise of over 65% of the islands land mass surround and grow around the submerged volcano. His theory was backed by the theory of plate tectonics in which the islands are actually built on not one but several ridges of volcanoes! Due to the subduction of the string of volcanos and the oceanic plates underneath the atoll. The islands long ago submerged slowly from the surface. The landmass we see today was then created slowly through time from decaying coral composition.

The picture above is the structure of the coral composition of the islands.

Coral Reefs:

As the volcano starts sinking the atoll provides the perfect photic zone for coral to thrive in.

My fascination with the Maldives was that these Atolls were created by the gradual growth of dead organisms which are coral. Coral Reefs are composed of Calcium Carbonate (CaC03 which is produced mainly by polyps.) These polyps can be created from the underwater biological structures of dead organisms which have decayed. In our case the polyps which make up the structure of the Atolls live in tropical regions up to 50 meters deep. The reason being is because these structures need copious amounts of sunlight in order to allow photosynthesis to happen. Without photosynthesis most of the underwater organisms cannot convert light into chemical energy. Particularly this abundance of life is commonly found in an area which is called the photic zone.

The anatomy of a sea sponge

Why its cool:

Well now that I have bored you with all this science talk the real reason why this is all so interesting is because the coral structures are truly beautiful with lively colors and exotic shapes. What you should know is that most of these organisms the photosynthesis that occurs in this region is truly special. By using a combination of photosynthesis and having an abundance of zooxanthellae (which are algae organisms that nourish the coral reefs)  it gives the coral compositions different textures and shapes which make the structures we all see today.

The coral structure off of Mulaku Atoll.

Why it's relevant to physical geography/geology:

We all know that the atolls we see today are actually the surfaces which are composed of coral composition. But underneath are strings of volcanoes that were mentioned earlier. Due to subduction in that region the oceanic plates are actually shifting very slowly which means that the island is actually sinking. As time goes on these coral compositions deposit calcium carbonate surrounding the area they are inhabiting. Time passes and the coral composition starts to build up on calcium carbonate. So now the last piece of the puzzle is the molding of this island. This "drum roll" magical mysterious force that creates this awesome island is what is called Bio-erosion. Bio-erosion is what exactly what the name is which is a biological force which can be from fish, waves, sponges to anything that can break down the coral structure and help settle these fragments to create reef structures and lagoons. As these structures build up the coral starts to surface. As the polyps die from the surfacing the fragments of the coral reef die and harden creating limestone.

As we can tell the calcium carbonate deposits are building around the island creating a ring shape.

Sources:

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Geography_of_the_Maldives.html

http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ai387e/ai387e03.htm

Pictures:

http://darwin-online.org.uk/

http://coralreefcreator.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/p1230062.jpg

http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/77/Maldives_small_island.jpg

https://geoarchitecture.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/made-ground-2-bio-geology/coral_polyp/#main

https://geoarchitecture.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/made-ground-2-bio-geology/darwin-coral-atolls/#main

Blogpost 1:Let's Dive into the Maldives

The Maldives are consisted of 1,190 islands that are uniformly shaped in a circle. These islands are grouped on chains of atolls which are coral reefs. With this the Maldives has a lot of biological geography as well.

Wind: Wind is one of the biggest factors in the formation of  the Maldives. As we all know the Maldives consists of massive amounts of coral composition that creates the atolls we see today. But did you know that the wind is the determining factor to where the coral grows and dies? The picture below shows that the wind is shifting the wave patterns around the island. In turn the side that has more wind stimulates a better environment for the coral to grow on.

Physical Geology: Charles Darwin suggested the islands were created from submerged volcanoes which eventually rose in time. But in recent times the a geologist named Hans Hass created another theory in which he proposes that the structure of the islands are submerged volcanoes that never surfaced but were coated with dead coral that over time built up on top of one another to create these islands.

The islands are built upon 3 layers which are:

• Ancient rock 
• Coral Rubble base
• Living coral.

Above is Vilingili Island the highest point in the Maldives with a whopping 2.4 meters above sea level!!!

Climate and Location: The Maldives are located in the the southwest region of the Indian sea only 250 miles away from India itself. The climate is constantly around 77 degrees to 85 degrees F. The Maldives have 2 seasons Monsoon and Dry. The Monsoon season generally is from May till October and Dry is from November till April. Due to low rainfall during the normal season the humidity is reduced making it the perfect hot spot for a vacation.

Links:

Hass vs Darwin

Reef Evolution

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/405-Maldives.jpg

Introduction

Hey guys my name is Patrick Huynh and I am currently a senior at the University of Colorado Denver. One of my biggest aspirations in life are to explore and see whats out there. For my blog entries I will be choosing the Maldives which is an Atoll located in the Indian ocean near the tip of India. The reason that I chose the Maldives was this photograph right here. I really was mesmerized with how truly beautiful this place was and that this very area is one of the best places to dive as well. As I wrap up my introduction I hope to learn and understand more of how this ecosystem was created and the basic geographical differences this area has that other places don't. I hope to excite and interest the reader(you) as we go along and learn about the Maldives! 

Patrick Huynh

 source:http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2012/05/14/01349158.jpg