A major international research project is to explore the potential for low-lying coral atoll islands to survive the predicted rise in sea level.
The islands, commonly found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, are widely acknowledged to be among the world's most vulnerable environments to climate change.
Most of them are presently predicted to be uninhabitable by the mid-21st century, but those forecasts are based on relatively simple hydrodynamic models.
A £2.8million project - Natural adaptation of atoll islands to sea-level rise offering opportunities for ongoing human occupation (ARISE) - is being funded through UK Research and Innovation's Horizon Europe Guarantee programme.
It aims to improve our understanding of the processes that will threaten and preserve these island nations. It also aims to aid in the formulation, development and implementation of climate change adaptation strategies.
The project is being led by the Coastal Processes Research Group (CPRG) at the University of Plymouth, which has previously led studies suggesting that island 'drowning' may not be inevitable in the face of sea-level rise.
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