Publié le 21 décembre 2018
Airbus explores its imagery catalogue to unveil 12 sites currently affected or facing future climate challenges.
The first site of thes series is located in the Pacific Ocean to the east of Papua New Guinea. Five Solomon Islands have disappeared due to rising water levels and coastal erosion, according to an Australian scientific study published in May 2016.
SPOT 5 image captured in July 2011 and SPOT 6 image acquired in October 2017. Source: Airbus Defence & Space. Click on the image to see the slider on the Airbus website
The islands consisting around 5 hectares, were uninhabited but were covered with vegetation and served as a stopover for local fishermen in the region. The Solomon Islands are threatened by rising sea levels and particularly violent waves that consistently erode the coastline.
The vegetation is still present on the SPOT 5 image captured in July 2011, whilst on the later SPOT 6 image acquired in October 2017, the waves roll over now-submerged lands.