Bangladesh gaining land, not losing: scientists

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: AFP

by Shafiq Alam Wed Jul 30, 9:41 AM ET

DHAKA (AFP) - New data shows that Bangladesh's landmass is increasing, contradicting forecasts that the South Asian nation will be under the waves by the end of the century, experts say.

Scientists from the Dhaka-based Center for Environment and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) have studied 32 years of satellite images and say Bangladesh's landmass has increased by 20 square kilometres (eight square miles) annually.

Maminul Haque Sarker, head of the department at the government-owned centre that looks at boundary changes, told AFP sediment which travelled down the big Himalayan rivers -- the Ganges and the Brahmaputra -- had caused the landmass to increase.

The rivers, which meet in the centre of Bangladesh, carry more than a billion tonnes of sediment every year and most of it comes to rest on the southern coastline of the country in the Bay of Bengal where new territory is forming, he said in an interview on Tuesday.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080730/sc_afp/bangladeshenvironmentunclimatewarming_080730134111;_ylt=Ai1fEIqHFVyfguECUfbGjKvPOrgF

[WriteDown]

1. Too weird...

That is actually a lot of land.

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. Yes, but one of the problems is that this new land is at sea level,

meaning that it will flood when a tropical cyclone comes ashore.

[Dreamer Tatum]

3. Isn't that a good thing?

More landmass for rough weather to subside upon?

[On the Road]

4. Yes, It is Good from That Point of View

but it's no protection against loss of acreage if sea level rises several feet.

[Indenturedebtor]

5. True it's just expanding horrizontally into the sea n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. Not if people are living there

People who moved there after being displaced by rising sea levels.

[Dreamer Tatum]

7. I suspect they didn't wake up and say., "HEY, NEW LAND!"

So my guess is that it isn't a single mass of new, developable (or even identifiable) land.

[twiceshy]

10. The seas are NOT rising.

And nothing Obama will or can do will lower them.

[DavidDvorkin]

15. So stop saying that!

Whatever happened to Bob Boudelang?

[WriteDown]

8. Wouldn't the addition of new land also...

Raise sea levels or is my science off?

[snooper2]

9. It's just sediment from upriver...

It would take much more than that to raise sea levels...

Like the polar caps melting or something :(

[ohio2007]

13. but...what about "peak land" and the global warming factor ?

guess all those voids created by oil extraction will be used eventually to explain the 'phenomena'

lol

[izquierdista]

11. More land to be under water

I don't think this is good news for anyone except the manufacturers of hip waders.

[seasat]

12. Guess the source of those rivers?

Himalayan Glaciers.

In a report, the WWF says India, China and Nepal could experience floods followed by droughts in coming decades.

The Himalayas contain the largest store of water outside the polar ice caps, and feed seven great Asian rivers.

The group says immediate action against climate change could slow the rate of melting, which is increasing annually.

"The rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers will first increase the volume of water in rivers, causing widespread flooding," said Jennifer Morgan, director of the WWF's Global Climate Change Programme.

"But in a few decades this situation will change and the water level in rivers will decline, meaning massive eco and environmental problems for people in western China, Nepal and northern India."

In the short run they are getting new land due to increased river flow and sediment transport. In the long run the rivers may dry up after the glaciers melt contributing to sea level rise.

[semillama]

14. And of course, when the river flow drops

so does the source of sediments for the new land...

This is at best a short-term gain for Bangladesh.