When the sea takes over

Imagine living on an island with lush forests and abundant wildlife. The forests and the sea sustain the people and provide a livelihood. However, the lashing waves seem to rise and begin to erode the island. In no time, the island is swallowed up by the sea. The inhabitants are compelled to migrate to another island.

The sea, however, stubbornly keeps rising, and this island too meets the same fate. This is what has been happening to the islands of the Sundarbans: the largest mangrove forest in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reason for their submergence? Climate change, which has caused sea levels to rise all over the world.

Nature’s fury has led to other places meeting the same fate. The tsunami of 2004 sank a lighthouse on an island of the Great Nicobar Islands known as Indira Point. Go back in time and you will find entire cities that have drowned. Strangely, they are still lying fairly intact, on the ocean bed.

Underwater
| Photo Credit:
Freepik

Pavlopetri, in Greece, sank into the ocean 5,000 years ago. Around 1200 years ago, Heracleion, an busy Egyptian port city sank abruptly. Around 1692, Port Royal of Jamaica — notoriously called ‘the wickedest city on earth’ because of its inhabitants were all pirates — was swallowed up by the sea when a massive earthquake struck. Closer home, Dwarka, a city in Gujarat, has been unearthed from the seabed.

But how have these drowned cities been found so well-preserved even after thousands of years? This is because the ocean sediment that settles on them forms a protective layer and shields the artefacts and monuments from the currents and marine life. The scanty oxygen in the depths slows down the decaying of organic matter like textiles and wood. The ocean bed is also free from weathering processes such as wind, rain and temperature fluctuations. This unique environment allows archaeologists to uncover well-preserved relics, offering a fascinating glimpse into ancient civilisations.

However, today, coastal cities and islands need to build up defence mechanisms like barriers or levees to prevent sea erosion. Climate change has already made itself felt and natural disasters too may strike any time without sufficient warning.