Small island nations across the globe are home to 62 million people and emit

Question

Small island nations across the globe are home to >62 million people and emit <1% of global greenhouse gases, yet they suffer disproportionately from climate change. As sea level rises, they face:

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: The prompt describes small island nations with populations over 62 million collectively, emitting under 1% of global greenhouse gases, yet experiencing disproportionate climate change impacts, particularly as sea levels rise. The question asks what they face as sea level rises.
Option 1: 'Increased fresh water supplies due to more precipitation' — This is not the typical outcome described for rising sea levels and small island nations. While precipitation patterns can change, sea level rise tends to bring saltwater intrusion and flooding rather than a reliable increase in freshwater availability. The notion of more fresh water is not supported by the standard climate-change impacts on islands; freshwater resources typically suffer from saltwater intrusion and contamination.
Option 2: 'Increase in viable land for agriculture due to increased salinity from seawater intrusion' — Saltwater intrusion generally degrades agricultural land by increasing soil salinity, reducing crop yields, and harming soil structure. It does not create more viable land for agriculture; in fact, it reduces arable land. Therefore this statement contradicts widely observed effects in coastal and island environments.
Option 3: 'Increased flooding and erosion of shorelines' — This aligns with the well-documented consequences of sea level rise for small island nations. Higher seas worsen coastal flooding, accelerate erosion, threaten infrastructure, and jeopardize habitats and livelihoods. This option directly reflects the known risks and is consistent with scientific understanding.
Option 4: 'Less flooding from rivers because the hydraulic gradients in rivers are decreasing' — River flooding dynamics are not simply reduced by sea level changes; sea level rise can influence coastal hydrology, but overall this claim about reduced river flooding due to decreasing hydraulic gradients is not a supported or widely observed outcome for small islands. It also misconstrues the distinction between coastal sea level effects and inland river behavior.
In summary, the reasoning process shows that option 3 describes the most accurate and widely recognized impact of sea level rise on small island nations, while the other options either misstate or contradict established evidence about freshwater availability, soil salinity effects, or river flooding dynamics.

EART-30-01 Final Exam

Small island nations across the globe are home to >62 million people and emit <1% of global greenhouse gases, yet they suffer disproportionately from climate change. As sea level rises, they face:

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