The coast of Easter Island and the ancient statues located there will be flooded in the coming decades due to the rise in ocean levels caused by global warming. Reported by The New York Times.
Researchers estimate that by 2100, the ocean could rise by about two meters, with vast coastal areas under water. This will intensify the process of erosion and destruction of the coastline on Easter Island, along with moai standing there - statues in the form of a huge human head located on a torso truncated to the waist.
As noted, many sculptures, which currently stand almost at the very edge of the water, will be under threat. Thus, the advancing ocean is likely to destroy the ceremonial platform (ahu) of Tongariki, where 15 statues of various sizes are located. The beach in Anakena Bay, famous for its white coral sand, and ahu Akhanga, where the fallen moai lie, will also disappear.
Easter Island residents plan to use a wall to protect landmarks, but it is not yet clear whether this measure will be effective. Officials are considering moving the statues inland.
Moai were erected by the indigenous people - Rapanui, who arrived on the island in the IX-X centuries from Eastern Polynesia. The statues are believed to have been made between 1250 and 1500. The material was rocks from the quarry of the extinct volcano Rano Raraku.