October 29, 2008
Rising sea levels as a result of climate change will erode Sydney's iconic beaches by 2050, and threaten beachfront homes and commercial properties, a new climate change study predicts.
 | Beachfront buildings in Sydney, Australia. Property along Australia's coastline is threatened by rising sea levels (Photo: Shutterstock) |
Sea levels along Sydney's coast are expected to rise by up to 40 cm above 1990 levels by 2050 and by 90 cm by 2100, with each one centimetre of rise resulting in one metre of erosion on low-lying beaches, said the Sydney climate change impact report.
"The Sydney region has a heavy density of residential and commercial beachfront developments that may be threatened by either ocean inundation or sea level rise-induced recession," said the report by the New South Wales Department of Climate Change.
The report said further study was needed to determine the extent of coastal erosion in particular locations. But low-lying Sydney beaches such as Collaroy and Narrabeen, which have already been severely eroded by storm seas, and Dee Why and Curl Curl, are most at risk.
Beaches which have a hard promenade, such as Manly, Bondi and Coogee, will shrink as sand is washed away and may need sand deposits in order to survive in further decades.
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"In general we expect a recession of the coastline of a sandy beach of about one meter for every centimeter rise in sea level," said Simon Smith, deputy director-general with the department. "The coastline will move inward. What is now currently a vegetated dune may become the beach," Smith said.
Being a coastal city, some of Sydney's most important infrastructure is built on its foreshore, and may be affected by rising sea levels. Sydney international airport is built on the edge of Botany Bay, with a runway jutting out into the bay.
"Most of the state's infrastructure was built with a provision for half a metre of sea level rise, but the individual asset owners are already looking to see if they need to make a change in their asset to prepare for the future," said Smith.
editor: Michael Perry (Reuters)
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