through the Bay of Bengal producing a 12m high wall of water that drowned a half million people in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) (Garrison 2005). The long-term association of population centers with lowland coastal regions dates back to early civilizations when people congregated at river mouths and estuaries because of abundant and accessible food sources (Stanley and Warne 1997, Kennett and Kennett 2006). A recent theory now ties the emergence and rapid expansion of the first complex societies to a slowing rate of SLR (Horton et al.2006, Day et al. 2007). These authors suggest that the rapid growth of complex societies did not occur until rising sea level began decelerating approximately 7,000 yrs BP following deglaciation. They argue that prior to that time, sea level rose too quickly (1 m /century; Fairbanks 1989) to permit communities to become permanently established and prosper. Prior to 7000 yrs BP, shorelines along coastal zones, such as delta plains, retreated at a rate of about 1 km/century (Day et al. 2007). The commonality in response of early civilizations and recent inhabitants of coastal regions such as the rapidly subsiding Louisiana lower delta plain, the disappearing islands in Chesapeake Bay, and other abandoned lands to the encroaching sea emphasizes the degree to which SLR has and continues to influence human populations13. Figure 3.3: source: IPCC 2007 It is important to note that many of the present ills associated with rising sea level represent the cumulative effects of processes that have been ongoing for many decades and perhaps centuries and that these effects may be related to other natural and anthropogenic factors in addition to SLR, such as reduced or exhausted
through the Bay of Bengal producing a 12m high wall of water that drowned a half million people in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) (Garrison 2005). The long-term association of population centers with lowland coastal regions dates back to early civilizations when people congregated at river mouths and estuaries because of abundant and accessible food sources (Stanley and Warne 1997, Kennett and Kennett 2006). A recent theory now ties the emergence and rapid expansion of the first complex societies to a slowing rate of SLR (Horton et al.2006, Day et al. 2007). These authors suggest that the rapid growth of complex societies did not occur until rising sea level began decelerating approximately 7,000 yrs BP following deglaciation. They argue that prior to that time, sea level rose too quickly (1 m /century; Fairbanks 1989) to permit communities to become permanently established and prosper. Prior to 7000 yrs BP, shorelines along coastal zones, such as delta plains, retreated at a rate of about 1 km/century (Day et al. 2007). The commonality in response of early civilizations and recent inhabitants of coastal regions such as the rapidly subsiding Louisiana lower delta plain, the disappearing islands in Chesapeake Bay, and other abandoned lands to the encroaching sea emphasizes the degree to which SLR has and continues to influence human populations13. Figure 3.3: source: IPCC 2007 It is important to note that many of the present ills associated with rising sea level represent the cumulative effects of processes that have been ongoing for many decades and perhaps centuries and that these effects may be related to other natural and anthropogenic factors in addition to SLR, such as reduced or exhausted
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