Browsing by Author "Huuskonen, Erja"

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Georeferoinnin laatu KM2-korkeusmallissa
(2017-04-30) Huuskonen, Erja
Insinööritieteiden korkeakoulu | Bachelor's thesis
Sea-level rise and land uplift in Kvarken and High Coast area in 2300.
(2020-03-16) Huuskonen, Erja
Insinööritieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
This thesis was pursued as a part of the LYSTRA project that promotes the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the High Coast and the Kvarken archipelago. The ice sheet and the subsequent post-glacial rebound shaped the study area during the last glacial period. Relative sea level fall has been characteristic of the area due to high land uplift rates. Global climate change and the resulting global mean sea level rise are slowing down the relative sea level fall in the area, and they might turn it into relative SLR. This thesis aims to project the relative sea level rise in the study area in 2300. Global mean sea level projections for 2300 are adjusted to the study area following the example of two studies that project sea level rise until 2100 in the Swedish and Finnish Coast. The projections follow three base emission scenarios, which present the low, middle, and high emission levels. This thesis includes a literature review and empirical research. The literature review introduces first the mechanisms of sea level rise on a global level and the global sea level rise projections that extend to 2300. After that, the processes affecting the local sea level are presented. The empirical part includes the collection of suitable data from the literature and forming the regional projections from the global projections. Sea level rise visualizations are then generated based on the regional projections, and the changes in coastline and landscape are analyzed. Projecting the sea level until 2300 is a matter of high uncertainty, mainly stemming from the related climate scenario and imperfect understanding of the mechanism of SLR. This thesis resulted in four visualization levels of sea level rise under medium and high emission scenarios: 1 m, 3 m, 5 m, and 10 m. The Kvarken archipelago is low elevated, and even SLR of a meter submerges large parts of the archipelago and majority of the glacial features in the area. Sea level rise of 10 m submerges the area practically wholly, while the High Coast is not remarkably affected due to its high-elevated, steep topography. The use of the low emission scenario results in the relative sea level fall in the whole study area. Reaching the low emission levels would require substantial mitigation of global temperature rise.