Hiya Wolfman,
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108062.htmlEconomic summary: GDP/PPP (2000 est.): $12.2 million; per capita $1,100. Real growth rate: 3%. Inflation: 5%. Unemployment: n.a.
Arable land: 0%. Agriculture: coconuts; fish. Labor force: 7,000 (2001 est.); people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those working abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors). Industries: fishing, tourism, copra. Natural resource: fish. Exports: $1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): copra, fish. Imports: $31 million c.i.f. (2004 est.): food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods.
I saw a news story on Tuvalu a few months ago. Unfortunately I don't think it's a good example of "sea-level rise." It didn't sound like a very fertile place (although they are 98% Congregationalist -re: "They are a God fearing bunch.").I was struck by how highly subsidized and very unsustainable the place sounded.
I was googling "isostatic and seamount," and "phosphate workers and Tuvalu."
I came across this stuff:http://www.geol.sc.edu/agl/abstracts/freymueller1abstract.htm"Using data from 77 well-constrained seamounts, we have constructed isostatic compensation maps for several seamount groups in the Central and Western Pacific. Important regional groupings in the compensation values are readily visible. The regional groupings suggest that the seamounts in each group had similar tectonic origins. The Hawaiian - Emperor chain, the Caroline Islands and the Magellan seamounts are uncompensated, suggesting a mid- plate hotspot origin. The Musicians seamounts, Mid-Pacific Mountains and Marshall Islands are highly compensated, suggesting a near ridge-crest origin, although the Marshall Islands display some complexities."
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2005JB004071.shtml"Subtracting the topographic effects of surface loading by the ridges and seamounts from the observed topography reveals that the ridges are built on broad bands of anomalously elevated seafloor."
...and regardless of whether the island may be sinking...http://www.spc.int/coastfish/Sections/Community/nauru.htm"Inland fisheries
Nauru has no freshwater streams or other bodies of freshwater, apart from one or two springs, and thus no freshwater fisheries.
Aquaculture
A brackish-water lagoon located near the centre of the island, and several other small brackish ponds, have been used to farm milkfish. Tilapia, which are not eaten by Nauruans, were introduced to these ponds in the mid-1960s. The tilapia have constrained milkfish productivity and efforts are currently under way to eradicate them from the ponds."
"Nauru's national revenues are expected to decline substantially in the near future due to the depletion of the island’s reserves of phosphate. In recognition of the economic potential of the nation’s tuna resources, the government is exploring the feasibility of establishing a domestic, commercial tuna fishery. Although Nauru's tuna resources are considered to be abundant, increased domestic production is constrained by the restriction in the size of fishing craft that can be used due to the lack of a harbour. To address this problem the Government of Nauru is presently planning to widen and deepen the small boat channel on the east side of the island. This development would serve the dual purpose of providing a launching and retrieval point for fishing craft up to 11 m in length, and enabling improved cargo discharge when the western channel is unworkable due to adverse winds.
Investigation is also under way into the design of offshore fishing craft which could be launched and retrieved using lifting equipment already in place at the small boat harbour and currently used for launching cargo barges. A further option under consideration is the mooring of fishing vessels at the mooring buoys presently used by large cargo vessels.
It is hoped that improved ocean access will foster the development of a local tuna longline fishing fleet which will increase landings for domestic consumption and perhaps exports, which could be carried to overseas markets by Nauru's national airline. A small fish market, to be located adjacent the south-eastern channel and equipped with ice-making equipment and cold storage, is also under development."
Wolfman, I don't recall the post; but do you remember me exhorting you to protect your local seamounts as they may be the only food source in the future? I was kinda joking at the time; but now I'm not so sure even they will survive.I suppose if things have gotten that bad, people won't be in a position to exploit such remote resources at that point; so seamount ecosystems should be safe in the long term.
~Samwik
