Italy’s shape, climate, and
landforms have been greatly influenced by its unique location. It is encased by
the Mediterranean Sea in the south, the Swiss Alps act as a natural border in
the north, and it happens to be lie by a convergent plate interaction. Over
time all of these have contributed to the look and feel of present day Italy.
The Mediterranean Sea has helped to keep most of Italy in a Mediterranean
climate, which has warm dry summers and cool wet winters. The Alps dominate the
north and because of receding glaciers in the Swiss Alps, the country may be
the new owner of the Matterhorn, the highest peak in the mountain range. (edition.cnn.com)
The plate interaction just southwest of the country has help make some
distinguishable landscapes all around the southern part of the country. With
many of Europe’s volcanoes in Italy, one stands above the rest, the famous Mt.
Vesuvius. It’s unforgettable shape and perfect climate make it one of the
worlds unforgettable countries.
Italy in 1,000 years
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| Taken in 2008 the picture illustrates the problem Venice is already facing. If a solution is not presented the city will drown. Photo credit: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical -issues-sea-level-rise/ |
The country of Italy is facing the
burden of rising sea levels and can be witnessed in the town of Venice.
According to the National Geographic, “Core samples, tide gauge readings, and,
most recently, satellite measurements tell us that over the past century, the
Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).
This is alarming because the town of Venice is also sinking into the ocean.
With the land that the town sits on going under and the sea level raising at an
exponential rate, the city must devise a plan or go under. Venice has already
experienced many floods that have drowned the city and the towns’ people just
fear that the next big flood is on its way.
In 1,000 years it is reasonable to say that the sea level will have
risen approximately 60in. if not more due to the increase in human activity and
global warming. (60 in. = 4in +8in/2 =6in per 100 yrs. 6inx10centries=60in.)
This would be enough to completely wipe out the city of Venice, and change many
physical features of some of Italy’s prized costal cities like Sardinia,
Amalfi, Pisa, and many others.
10,000 Years later
The main cause of destruction or
demise to Italy’s landscape and climate is going to be the tectonic plate
movement and rising temperature globally. 10,000 years from now the country
will look much different than it does today. As mentioned early it is already
going to see a change in its board because of melting glaciers in the Alps. If
run off from a mountaintop is supposed to flow towards sea that only leaves the
water one place to go, towards Italy. In 10,000 years if the temperatures
continue to rise the glaciers will recede even more flooding parts of the
country and possibly creating more lakes. The costal towns that are already
being affected by global warming and rising sea levels already will only have
remnants of them. The size of Italy’s land size will also become smaller
because of the sea rise.
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| The photo depicts what the landform of Italy will look like in 1,000 10,000 and 1,000,000 years. The shaded area is the land mass that is predicted to be underwater during the passing times. It was calculated by taking the past 100 average sea rising levels. |
1,000,000 years from now
If the climate changes continue at
the pace they are now, I could predict that the Island of Capri and Sardinia
will have completely submerged and created some sort of archipelago, like the
ones we see today. As we learned in a lecture an archipelago is formed when a
land mass is eroded and becomes submerged. The top of the landmass falls like a
caldera, and a ring of landforms are slightly submerged or sticking up out of
the water.
I have included a drawing of what I
expect for Italy to look like in the next 1,000,000 years and in between. I
based my thoughts on the rate of change (temperature rising, plate interaction,
and general ideas) as to how the country would be affected. The main idea is
that it would be smaller and have more lakes because of the rising sea level
and warmer temperatures causing glaciers to melt.
