Tiny coral-reef islands such as those in the Maldives archipelago may appear fragile, but they aren’t easily swept away, a new study shows. The waves of the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami were devastating to the islands’ inhabitants, but researchers now find that the waves’ geological impact on the islands themselves was minor and had little effect on their long-term stability.
The Maldives includes about 1,200 coral-reef islands, or atolls, in the Indian Ocean. The reefs sit atop the craters of a string of undersea volcanoes south-southwest of India. The low-lying islands are vulnerable to sea level rise. Monsoon winds, which reverse direction from winter to summer, also impose a seasonal effect on the shorelines, redistributing beach sands to alternating coasts.