Literally!
This is not about economic growth, intellectual enlightenment, or attaining some other form of excellence.
This is a matter of fact statement about the geography of Oahu: It is rising. Every century the Koolaus will grow taller.
Contrary to global warming theories that for decades have suggested that Oahu’s shores will be inundated and beaches will be lost, new scientific analysis shows that even with possible sea lever rise, and even with the constant erosion of the island by wind and rain, Oahu will grow taller thanks to strong volcanic forces that lift it up from the bottom of the ocean.
The effects of climate, soil thickness, and water contact times on Oahu, Hawaii is the title of the article by Stephen T. Nelson, David G. Tingey, and Brian Selck from the Department of Geological Sciences, at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah.
Here is their remarkable conclusion: “Recent work indicates that Oahu is tectonically emerging at 0.060 m/ka. As long as this uplift continues, the net size of the island will slowly increase and the Koolau Range should persist as an orographic trap to precipitation, maintaining relative aridity in the Waianae Range.”
That’s 6 cm every 1,000 years. Not sure if that's enough to protect from any sea level rise due to polar ice melting.
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