Loss of Drinking Water Due to Climate Change to Be Worse Than Expected

As if the prospect of worldwide climate change arising from global warming wasn't bleak enough, the results of a recent study have Ohio State University scientists piling on the pessimism. According to their research, coastal communities may lose up to 50 percent more of their fresh water supplies than originally predicted.

The results of the study, which was conducted by Motomu Ibaraki, an associate professor in the university's earth science department, were presented October 30 at a meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver, Colorado.

The study involved simulated scenarios of rising sea levels based on estimates given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is an organization dedicated to the understanding of climate change and the investigation of options for adaptation. The organization gained fame recently when it was named a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize along with former vice president Al Gore.

Given the current rate of global temperature increases, the IPCC estimates that the sea level could rise as much as 23 inches within the next 100 years, wreaking havoc on coastal communities.

As Ibaraki pointed out in the study, this is a significant threat, considering the massive number of people inhabiting at-risk areas.

"Almost 40 percent of the world population lives in coastal areas, less than 60 kilometers from the shoreline," he said.

In addition to flooding cities such as New York and Venice, the rising sea level will have a detrimental effect on the world's fresh water supply.

"Most people are probably aware of the damage that rising sea levels can do above ground, but not underground, which is where the fresh water is," said Ibaraki. "Climate change is already diminishing fresh water resources, with changes in precipitation patterns and the melting of glaciers. With this work, we are pointing out another way that climate change can potentially reduce available drinking water."