Bluer by Degrees
6 apr
1/3 Vickers Street
Parap
“These tiny encapsulated and ghostly Top End landscapes are portents of the future.”
The low level floodplains of the Northern Territory lie within 100km of the coast from the Moyle River near Port Keats to Blue Mud Bay in eastern Arnhem Land.
10,000 square kilometres highly vulnerable to future sea-level rise, saltwater inundation and storm surges caused by climate change.
According to a recent CSIRO report1 Kakadu National Park could be largely overwhelmed by rising seawater in less than 90 years.
A one metre rise in sea level would transform low-lying coastal plains and freshwater wetlands into mangrove forest.
Biodiversity, indigenous culture and economic activities will be affected with the loss of the entire freshwater ecosystem.
Worldwide, maps will have to be re-drawn, nations will disappear and millions of people will become climate refugees.
These tiny encapsulated and ghostly Top End landscapes are portents of the future.
It has been determined that 60% and 78% of the freshwater floodplains will be subjected to sea-level rise and saltwater inundation by 2070 and 2100 respectively. By 2132 all current freshwater floodplains in the region will be subjected to salt-water inundation at a mean sea level of 2.15 metres.
– WINSOME JOBLING, March 2019
1. https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=csiro:EP14519&dsid=DS2
IMAGE: Exhibition installation at Salon Project Space 2018, photograph by Fiona Morrison
