Environmental scanning refers to the art of systematically exploring the external environment to comprehend nature and the rate of the transition occurring together with identifying potential opportunities that may impact future developments of organizations. The scanning analyses both new, strange, and weird ideas along with unravelling current trends in the environment (Conway, 2009). One aspect that signifies the presence of climate change is global warming. Global warming is a long-term process in which the earth’s surface heats up due to human activities such as burning fossil fuel that raises the temperature of greenhouse gases responsible for heating the atmosphere (Conway, 2009). This paper will set off with a futures wheel diagram, elaborate on the consequences of rising sea levels, enumerate the four sequences of the products, and finalize the implications of the four sequences of impact.
Apart from causing flooding, rising sea levels will also bring about other detrimental impacts on the environment. For instance, the increase in sea levels will contaminate the drinking water hence depriving people of clean water to take and use for domestic purposes. Rising sea levels are more likely to cause the seawater to seep into the freshwater sources along the shore, depriving the residents of freshwater for drinking (Glenn, 2009). Besides, saltwater is unsafe for drinking, and removing salt from the water is expensive and complicated. The other consequence of rising sea levels is threatening the wildlife population. Many forms of wildlife make their homes on the beach, and the rise in shorelines leads to floods in areas inhabited by coastal animals (Glenn, 2009). Therefore, the habitats of these animals have been swept away hence leaving them with no place to stay.
The other detrimental consequence of rising sea levels is interfering with farming. The same freshwater sources are used for irrigation on the land located at the sea’s shore. Therefore, the intruding seawater could make the groundwater sources saltier. When used for irrigation, it kills crops or causes them to have stunted growth (Conway, 2014)—like for drinking water, producing freshwater for irrigation purposes is costly and unsustainable in the long run. The last consequence of rising sea levels for consideration in this paper is changing the coastal plant life (Conway, 2014). The increased frequency of saltwater hitting the shores is likely to change the chemistry of the soil located in the coastal regions. This change in the chemical characteristics of the earth will cause the permanent disappearance of some plants from the shoreline while trees may experience stunted growth.
Apart from the consequences of rising sea level, there also exists sequences in which the level increases. The first type of sequence is a low stand characterized by an initial fall in the sea level followed by a slow relative rise (Glenn, 2009). The transgressive sequence occurs when the sea level rises close to the land, causing the shoreline to move towards higher ground. This often results in flooding, usually brought about by land sinking or by the ocean basins being filled with water (Conway, 2014). Thirdly, a high stand sequence is generally recorded when the relative sea level rises, and there is enough sediment supply to produce continuous regression. Finally, the occasional falling stage is depicted by erosive-based shore face sand bodies on the shoreline areas. The erosion responsible for depositing these sand bodies emanates from wave scouring during the sea-level fall.
During the late low stand, the relative seal level rises slowly, permitting the incised valleys to flood and form estuaries. The sediment of the ocean is trapped in these estuaries and prevented from reaching the shelf (Glenn, 2009). This process intensifies during the transgressive sequence. Furthermore, the flooding intensifies with a transgressive series that results in a high stand sequence. The waves slow down, and the sea level is expected at the occasionally falling stage.
References
Conway, M. (2009). Environmental scanning: What it is and how to do it. Thinking Futures. Retrieved on 1st February 2022, from file:///C:/Users/wangsh/Downloads/Environmental%20scanning%20what%20it%20is%20and%20how%20to%20do%20it%202013%20(1).pdf
Conway, M. (2014). Environmental Scanning: what it is and how to do it [Video]. Retrieved 1 February 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8hrsYHEXJo.
Glenn, J. C. (2009). The futures wheel. Futures research methodology—version, 3. Retrieved on 1st February 2022, from https://jeasprc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/06-Futures-Wheel.pdf
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