Subsidence as a model for raising sea-level
Gas has been extracted on Ameland since 1986, causing the surface to drop by 1 to 25 cm. This study examines the relationship between the change in vegetation and planet diversity and the subsidence, and what sort of changes subsidence and climate change may cause in the future.
Using multiple regression, climate change (rising sea level, storm frequency, precipitation) was linked to the composition of vegetation, height, soil composition, precipitation, groundwater levels and incidence of flooding for the period 1986-2001. It turned out that changes in the vegetation could be out down to occasional flooding and fluctuations in precipitation and to the constant subsidence and a constant factor. Only minor changes were noted during the period studied, but the rising sea level is expected to cause large-scale changes in the future. Although the rise in the sea level will probably wipe out various species, it will not necessarily lead to decline in the natural environment.
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Presentation: Soil subsidence as a model for sea level rise