Signs of Sea Level Rise in the Bahamas

<!DOCTYPE html>      <html lang="en">  <head>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-KEN9L99MMC"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-KEN9L99MMC'); </script> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <title>Signs of Sea Level Rise in the Bahamas</title>  <meta name="orgcode" content="610"> <meta name="rno" content="Robert.C.Levy.1"> <meta name="content-owner" content="Paul.D.Przyborski.1"> <meta name="webmaster" content="Paul.D.Przyborski.1"> <meta name="description" content="Rising seas have redistributed cyanobacterial mats blanketing part of Andros Island and restructured the island&rsquo;s marshes and mudflats.">  <meta name="DC.Identifier" content="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/"> <meta name="DC.Title" content="Signs of Sea Level Rise in 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= "panel-footer"> <p class = "first">April 29, 1986<a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_tm5_19860429_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank" class = "download-btn download-btn-first no-underline pull-right hvr-rectangle-out">JPEG</a></p> <div class = "clearfix"></div> </div> </div> <div class = "panel image-viewer-panel"> <div class = "panel-image"> <a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_oli2_20240515_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank"><img src = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_oli2_20240515.jpg" alt = "Signs of Sea Level Rise in the Bahamas" /></a> </div> <div class = "panel-footer"> <p class = "first">May 15, 2024<a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_oli2_20240515_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank" class = "download-btn download-btn-first no-underline pull-right hvr-rectangle-out">JPEG</a></p> <div class = "clearfix"></div> </div> </div> <div class = "panel image-viewer-panel slider"> <div id = "slider-window" class = "twentytwenty-container"> <img src="https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_tm5_19860429.jpg" alt="Signs of Sea Level Rise in the Bahamas" style = "width: 100%;"> <img src="https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_oli2_20240515.jpg" alt="Signs of Sea Level Rise in the Bahamas"style = "width: 100%;"> </div> <div class = "panel-footer" style = "overflow: hidden; width: 100%;"> <div style = "width: 49%; float: left; margin-bottom: 6px;"> <p class = "first">April 29, 1986</p> </div> <div style = "width: 49%; float: right; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-right: 3px; text-align: right;"> <p class = "first">May 15, 2024</p> </div> <div><p>April 29, 1986<a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_tm5_19860429_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank" class = "download-btn no-underline pull-right hvr-rectangle-out">JPEG</a><p>May 15, 2024<a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_oli2_20240515_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank" class = "download-btn no-underline pull-right hvr-rectangle-out">JPEG</a></div> </div> <div class = "clearfix"></div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="btn-compare-container hvr-rectangle-out"> <a href="#" id="btn-compare-view" class="btn-compare-view">View Image Comparison</a> <a href="#" id="btn-compare-hide" class="btn-compare-hide">View Both Images</a> </div> </div> <p>When University of Miami geologist <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/obituaries/article161032844.html">Robert Ginsberg</a> passed away in 2017, colleagues noticed something intriguing while sorting his papers: a collection of black-and-white aerial photographs of parts of the Bahamas. Closer inspection revealed they were British Royal Navy reconnaissance photos taken during World War II. Among them were images shot in 1943 of the coastline of Andros, the largest island in the Bahamas.</p> <p>Comparing these <a href="https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0037073821000841-gr10.jpg&tbnid=EwkA1YFpPn2tyM&vet=1&imgrefurl=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0037073821000841&docid=UbWlqCdjD27dEM&w=802&h=500&source=sh/x/im/m1/1&kgs=5096c95797dec5d0&shem=abme,trie">vintage photographs</a> with modern Landsat satellite images has provided scientists with insight into how sea level rise has transformed the island’s inland marshes over the past 80 years, even as the shoreline remained mostly unchanged.</p> <p>Data collected by <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/tide-gauge.html">tide gauges</a> indicate that sea level at Andros Island rose by roughly 10 centimeters (4 inches) between 1985 and 2018—at roughly the same rate that <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/?intent=121">global sea level</a> has increased since the 1990s. Research-grade tide gauge data is not available for Andros Island back to the 1940s, but experts calculate sea level in the region has increased聽by an average of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2478/v10156-011-0029-4">0.18 centimeters</a> per year since 1950.</p> <p> “Given the rapid rate of change, we expected to see recession of the coastlines,” said University of Miami geologist <a href="https://people.miami.edu/profile/5c3981899846a9995f61f7d94c153b78">Sam Purkis</a>, coauthor of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2021.105932">study in <em>Sedimentary Geology</em></a> that detailed changes on Andros Island. “But the shoreline was actually quite stable.”</p> <div class = "panel image-viewer-panel"> <div class = "panel-image"> <a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/bacterialmat_photo_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank"><img src = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/bacterialmat_photo.jpg" alt = "" /></a> </div> <div class = "panel-footer"> <p class = "first">2021<a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/bacterialmat_photo_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank" class = "download-btn download-btn-first no-underline pull-right hvr-rectangle-out">JPEG</a></p> <div class = "clearfix"></div> </div> </div> <p>Instead, Purkis and his colleagues observed major changes in the inland marshes and mudflats on the western side of the island. In this shallow, sheltered area, carbonate sediment accumulates amid dendritic networks of tidal channels and extensive mats of laminated <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/scytonema"><em>Scytonema</em> cyanobacteria</a>. These dark brown bacterial mats (close up above) thrive in freshwater at roughly 7 centimeters (3 inches) below the average high water mark, keeping them above most daily tidal fluctuations and making them an excellent marker of sea level.</p> <p>The pair of Landsat images at the top of the page highlights changes in the distribution of bacterial mats and channels in the shallow tidal zone of the Three Creeks area in the northern part of the island. The <a href="https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/article/the-thematic-mapper/">TM</a> (Thematic Mapper) on <a href="https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellites/landsat-5/">Landsat 5</a> captured the left image on April 29, 1986. The <a href="https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellites/landsat-9/landsat-9-instruments/oli-2-design/">OLI-2</a> (Operational Land Imager-2) on <a href="https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellites/landsat-9/">Landsat 9</a> captured the right image on May 15, 2024.</p> <p><em>Scytonema</em> mats are dark brown. The bacterial mats are especially widespread in inland marshes, but patches of <em>Scytonema</em> also thrive in higher-elevation areas in the tidal zone atop channel levees in mudflats closer to the shoreline. Carbonate mud is white. Inland vegetation, largely pine forests, appears green. The aerial photograph below, taken by Purkis in 2021, shows a closer view of <em>Scytonema</em> marshes and carbonate mudflats.</p> <p>“Notice how much the <em>Scytonema</em> mats moved—more than 200 meters (700 feet) inland in some areas—and how much the overall architecture of the channels evolved over the decades,” said Purkis. “We saw a lengthening, widening, and proliferation of channels that was the direct result of sea level rise.”</p> <div class = "panel image-viewer-panel"> <div class = "panel-image"> <a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_aerialphoto_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank"><img src = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_aerialphoto.jpg" alt = "" /></a> </div> <div class = "panel-footer"> <p class = "first">2021<a href = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153568/androsisland_aerialphoto_lrg.jpg" target = "_blank" class = "download-btn download-btn-first no-underline pull-right hvr-rectangle-out">JPEG</a></p> <div class = "clearfix"></div> </div> </div> <p>As part of the analysis, Purkis and coauthor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=zh-CN&user=gG6F0QoAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">Mingyue Wu</a> considered whether hurricanes might be responsible for the changes. Andros was struck by multiple Category 4 and 5 storms over the study period, but by tracking changes observed by Landsat on a yearly basis the researchers found these storms caused few lasting changes to the structure of mudflats, marshes, or channels on the island.</p> <p>“One of the lessons from what’s happened on Andros is that the effects of sea level rise are not uniform or intuitive,” said Purkis, noting that the shorelines saw little change because they were adequately replenished with sediment. “As sea level continues to rise,” he said, “people should understand that shorelines might stay in place in some areas, while inland marshes might expand and hollow out islands from the inside.”</p> <p><i>NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the <a href="http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov">U.S. Geological Survey</a>. Photos courtesy of Sam Purkis (University of Miami) and Gregor Eberili (University of Miami). Story by <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/about/adam-voiland">Adam Voiland</a>.</i></p> </div> <div class = "col-lg-4 col-md-4 col-sm-4 col-xs-12"> <div class = "panel panel-default hidden-xs"> <div class = "panel-body"> <div class = "panel-map"> <a href = "/map#6/25.020085493777/-78.154044518104" id = "pointer" title = "pointer" alt = "pointer" class = "no-underline panel-map-pinpoint" style="top: 46.671041164133px; left: 95.473407929011px;"><?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  <svg version="1.1" id="Layer_1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px" viewBox="0 0 98.2 98.2" style="enable-background:new 0 0 98.2 98.2;" xml:space="preserve"> <style type="text/css"> .st0{fill:#F05223;cursor:default;} </style> <circle class="st0" cx="49" cy="49.1" r="49"/> </svg> </a> <img src = "/img/detailMap.jpg" id = "map" class = "panel-map-detailmap" alt = "Location" onclick="location.href='/map#6/25.020085493777/-78.154044518104'" /> </div> <div class = "panel-map"> <p class="text-center map-link"><a href="/map#6/25.020085493777/-78.154044518104">View this area in EO Explorer</a></p> </div> <div class = "panel-map-description"> <p><strong>Rising seas have redistributed cyanobacterial mats blanketing part of Andros Island and restructured the island’s marshes and mudflats.</strong></p> <p>Image of the Day for November 18, 2024</p> <dl class="instruments"> <dt>Instruments:</dt> <dd>Landsat 5 — TM</dd> <dd>Landsat 9 — OLI-2</dd> <dd>Photograph</dd> </dl> </div> </div> <p class = "btn-tag-group"> <a href = "/topic/image-of-the-day" class = "btn btn-tag hvr-rectangle-in btn-sm btn-imageofday">Image of the Day</a> <a href = "/topic/land" class = "btn btn-tag hvr-rectangle-in btn-sm btn-land">Land</a> <a href = "/topic/water" class = "btn btn-tag hvr-rectangle-in btn-sm btn-water">Water</a> </p> <div class = "panel-body"> <div class = "panel-iotd-nav nocontent"> <p><strong>View more Images of the Day:</strong></p> <div class = "col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12"> <div class = "row"> <div class = "col-md-6 col-sm-6 col-xs-6"> <div class = "panel-image"><a href = "/images/153585/tajikistans-fedchenko-glacier"><img src = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153585/iss069e060332_th.jpg" alt = "Tajikistan’s Fedchenko Glacier" /></a></div> <div class = "thumbnail-date pull-left">Nov 17, 2024</div> </div> <div class = "col-md-6 col-sm-6 col-xs-6"> <div class = "panel-image"><a href = "/images/153593/mount-fuji-bare-again-after-fleeting-snow"><img src = "https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/153000/153593/fuji_oli_20241109_th.jpg" alt = "Mount Fuji Bare Again After Fleeting Snow" /></a></div> <div class = "thumbnail-date pull-right">Nov 19, 2024</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class = "panel-body panel-body-mobile visible-xs"></div> <a href = "javascript:void(0)" title = "down arrow" alt = "down arrow" class = "visible-xs panel-expand-collapse"> <div class="arrow down"></div> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class = "row"> <div class = "col-xs-12 references"> <div class = "row"> <div class = "container container-mobile-fluid"> <div class = "row"> <div class = "col-xs-12 references-content"> <div class = "references-icon"></div> <h2>References & Resources</h2> <ul> <li>NASA Earth Observatory (2022, August 11) <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150192/tracking-30-years-of-sea-level-rise">Tracking 30 Years of Sea Level Rise</a>. Accessed November 7, 2024.</li> <li>NASA (2024) <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/?intent=121">Sea Level</a>. Accessed November 7, 2024.</li> <li>NASA (2024) <a href="https://sealevel.nasa.gov/">Sea Level Change</a>. Accessed November 7, 2024.</li> <li>Wu, M., <em>et al.</em> (2021) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2021.105932">Sea-level, storms, and sedimentation鈥擟ontrols on the architecture of the Andros tidal flats (Great Bahama Bank)</a>. <cite>Sedimentary Geology,</cite> 420, 105932.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class = "container container-mobile-fluid hidden-xs"> <div class = "row"> <div class = "col-xs-12"> <h2 class = "cta-interest-header related-images-header">You might also be interested in    (<a href="/images/related/153568/signs-of-sea-level-rise-in-the-bahamas">view all</a>)</h2> </div> </div> </div> <div class = "row hidden-xs"> <div class = "container-fluid homepage-cards-container"> <div class = "row thumbnail-cards homepage-cards masonry-container"> <div class="grid-sizer col-lg-3 col-sm-4 col-xs-12"></div> <div class = "visible-xs col-xs-12 hidden-print"> <a href = "/subscribe/" class = "cta cta-subscribe"> <img src = "/img/logo-mark.svg" 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Signs of Sea Level Rise in the Bahamas