Climate change and flooding could force Venice to sink into legend
Travellers in Italy, and poets in particular, have waxed lyrical over the ancient city of Venice. Shelley talked of “a peopled labyrinth
of walls, Amphitrite’s
destined halls” and Byron described a situation “where Venice sate
in state, throned on her hundred isles”.
There is today consternation over the distinct possibility that, given our climatic
threats affecting the whole globe, Venice might sink into legend. Attention has
been concentrated recently on the fate of New Orleans but many other coastal
cities are facing disaster. Flooding in Venice has been a problem since the Middle
Ages, and the accelerating rise in sea level attributed to global warming has
turned a sporadic nuisance into a looming menace.
A discussion of this situation, published in Science for 23 September, describes
some of the activities and investigations now focused upon the problem. Venice
not only calls for attention in terms of its own plight but also offers a wealth
of evidence that can be turned to good effect elsewhere. The city and its lagoon
have become a model system for the complex interaction between the physical,
biological and urban processes operating in a marine setting.
The record of Venetian sea-level changes through the years is claimed to be the
most comprehensive in the world. Researchers have also been trying to account
for the observed steady sinking of Venice through a combination of moving continental
plates and the compression of sediment. Records indicate that the sea level in
the Middle Ages was even higher than today, while during the Roman empire it
was some 1.5m lower. It is disconcerting to find that sea levels in the vicinity
of Venice have risen rapidly over the past 50 years.
Even without global warming, Venice is prone to flooding. One reason is that
it was built only two metres or so above the water level at the time. Another
reason is that, because the lagoon is situated at the narrow end of the Adriatic,
swells generated by storms in the Mediterranean produce a build-up of water in
the lagoon, sometimes doubling the volume of water on Venice’s doorstep.
If it were not for the northward drift of Atlantic storms over the past 40 years — an
effect also linked to global warming — the state of Venice now would be
even more parlous.
Climate change and flooding are not the only factors that trouble Venetians.
The art and architectural treasures of the place are calling for further protection
and restoration.
There are also environmental threats to the surrounding lagoon, which supports
a bustling seaport industry and protects Europe’s largest area of wetland.
Fortunately, the Venice lagoon is the most closely studied in the world, yet
it presents a singularly complex array of urgent problems to be overcome.
Venice’s population has fallen from 150,000 in the 1950s to 64,000 today,
and its prosperity depends on 14 million tourists every year and on port traffic.
Effort must be made to encourage more younger residents, otherwise the distant
prospect is depressing.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal
We sometimes hear a great deal about the benefits to be anticipated from concentrating the processes of thought and attention. In guiding the activities of
our children we often resort to the need to pay attention and urge them
not to allow any distraction. School teachers in particular use “Pay
attention” as a favourite phrase when things are getting out of
hand. Yet when it comes to serious study and the need to assess evidence
and reach an important decision, the temptation to adopt tunnel vision,
and therefore to ignore great tracts of relevant information, may be
less desirable than at first appears.