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**Venice is known for many things: nice buildings, good food, and, well, mostly water. Loads of water. Canals absolutely left, right, and centre. So many canals that it's known as the 'floating city', and as a result, will soon be a victim of climate change. Climate scientists have warned that the Mediterranean will rise by up to 5 feet (140cm) by 2100, and 33 other areas across Italy are also at high risk of disappearing into the sea; this is due to greenhouse emissions. For comparison, the sea level has only risen by 30cm in the last 1000 years. Basically, book your holidays now - just in case.
The study, published in Quarternary International, utilised a lot of advanced methods to come to their findings. It was carried out by the ENEA (the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), who looked at how flooding had affected millstone quarries to predict the possible rise in sea levels. The lead author, Fabrizio Antonioli, said, 'we integrated historical sources, aerial photography, field surveys and paleo sea-level modelling to investigate a number of millstone quarries with the aim of assessing the intervening sea level change that occurred since the quarries were abandoned'. That's all very complicated, but it isn't all quite so hopeless and cut and dry as it may seem. The effects could be prevented if climate change is 'stalled', however, with the US government's current stance on global warming, it hardly seems like anyone is going to make it a priority.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.