Giant's Causeway lost as sea levels rise global warming

Sceala Clann T.D. Location: Wicklow

I am optimistically ...unconvinced by many of the claims for global warming ...and I sure hope they are wrong in today's news about rising sea levels posing a threat to the Giant's Causeway. If this data is correct ..this will have devastating effects all over Ireland.
The Giant's causeway ...one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ireland, and a World Heritage Site ...is one of those rare places worthy of the label ...a wonder of the world ....the scenery is awe inspiring.
The British National Trust has warned that rising sea levels and stormy weather may damage the Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim.
The organisation says other coastal areas in the North could also be lost as the sea level is expected to rise by up to one metre this century. The trust says access to the Giant's Causeway could become more difficult, with problems becoming evident as early as 2020. The over-wintering of Brent Geese in Strangford Lough could also be affected as the mud flats near Newtownards could be flooded.

Full news item from the Irish Independent
Causeway may vanish as global warming whips up Giant waves
Researchers from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster have warned that parts of the world-renowned Causeway could become inaccessible and much of Murlough National Nature Reserve in Co Down could be washed away, due to sea level rises and storm surges.
Giant's Causeway lost as sea levels rise global warming
The British National Trust, which commissioned the Shifting Shores report, revealed that vast populations of wild birds depending on Strangford Lough's mudflats could vanish if sea levels rise by up to a metre by 2100.
Under threat would be the thousands of Brent geese that migrate to Strangford to feed every winter, summer breeding seabirds including terns, ringed plover and cormorant, as well as common and grey seals which haul out onto low-lying lough islands which are expected to be submerged.
Ireland is forecast to experience warmer temperatures, wetter winters and drier summers, sea level rises of between 85 and 100cm by 2100, as well as increased frequency of extreme storm surges and extreme wave events, the report revealed.
"The Giant's Causeway is likely to experience increased storminess, with a greater area of the Causeway stones washed by waves by 2050, while by 2100 access to parts of the Causeway could be more difficult, particularly in winter," the report said.
"At north-east Strangford Lough, sea level rise of up to 25cm is predicted by 2050, and possibly by up to one metre by 2100. This would result in significant loss of feeding and nesting grounds for the lough's birdlife. Increased winter storms would result in sea walls being overtopped more often and undefended areas of coast experiencing greater erosion. "At Murlough National Nature Reserve it is possible that between 50 and 400 metres of dunes could be eroded away, while tidal and storm flooding could reach one metre higher than present day extremes."

Basalt stone formations created by volcanic activity some 60 million years ago.
This stretch of Irish coast is one of Ireland's World Heritage Sites.
Irish Community Images

The Trust has called for more detailed data to be compiled on the North's coasts and warned that the planning system must take predicted coastal change into account when considering applications.
Director Hilary McGrady said: "This report highlights the challenges which will be important for all of us - government, landowners, coastal communities - to begin to consider now and to plan for in the future. "Shifting Shores is a major contribution by the National Trust to the growing debate about climate change. "The key challenges which we in the Trust believe it is essential to address now include the need for more detailed coastal data and mapping of the whole the north of Ireland coastline. This is needed urgently, and Government must make this a priority. "Our planning system, and in particular development plans and planning policy statements, must take predicted coastal change into account, to ensure we make the right decisions about the future of our coastal landscapes."

Giant's Causeway lost as sea levels rise

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Giant's Causeway lost as sea levels rise global warming