Tuvalu  

 

Tuvalu, shown with a red circle on the map above, is located northeast of Australia in the South Pacific.

Tuvalu is an island nation of 11,000+ people located between 5 degrees and 10 degrees S Latitude and approximately 177 degrees W Longitude (just this side of the International Date Line). Tuvalu is an independent country and is part of a larger group of islands in that region called Oceania.

Tuvalu is a small group of 9 coral reef islands or ATOLLS that cover an area of about 10 square miles.

Atolls are generally a combination of small islands and reefs that are circular in shape. The reefs typically enclose small bodies of water called LAGOONS.

Pictures describe coral reef islands or atolls much more effectively than words. Check the pictures of Tuvalu below.

The island pictured below is a CORAL REEF ISLAND or an ATOLL.

The ring around this island is a ‘coral reef’. Reefs form in warm waters of the tropics and are made from hard, skeleton material left behind by small marine organisms. A buildup of this material often forms a larger structure like a reef or an atoll.

The lagoon within the coral reef is easily observed—note that the lagoon is a lighter color blue than the ocean, primarily because lagoons are usually shallow.

Tuvalu has made its way into the man caused climate debate.

Climate alarmists worry that ‘global warming’ allegedly caused by burning fossil fuels will melt the Polar Ice Caps. Massive melting of polar ice, they fear, will cause sea levels to rise. You can easily see by examining the next picture that a substantial rise in sea level could conceivably eliminate the country of Tuvalu and other low-lying island groups.

To lose Tuvalu would be catastrophic for the 11,000 residents. The loss of Tuvalu would also be a loss for people everywhere who dream of visiting tropical ‘paradise’ islands like you see pictured on the next page.

BUT GOOD NEWS! Satellite images accumulated over the past several years actually show that Tuvalu has expanded in size by a small margin! Climate alarmists can stop worrying about Tuvalu, at least for now.