Key Missile Defense Installation Will be Uninhabitable in Less Than 20 Years

Source: Scientific American

A multibillion-dollar military installation in the Pacific that has provided key testing for the U.S. defense against a possible North Korean nuclear strike could become uninhabitable in less than two decades due to climate change.

The site, which is threatened by rising sea levels, is also used to track space junk that can cripple spacecraft.

The Army's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the low-lying Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands is expected to be submerged by seawater at least once a year, according to a new study ordered by the Department of Defense. That marks a "tipping point" that could wipe out the island's source of fresh water by 2035, says the report, which was quietly released late last week.

The study builds on previous research that found rising seas will swamp the islands so frequently that salt water will eat away at the expensive equipment, buildings and roads on the island, ultimately damaging them. It also found that freshwater supplies for the installation, where about 1,300 people live and work, are further threatened by climate change, which could reduce rain levels.

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Read more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/key-missile-defense-installation-will-be-uninhabitable-in-less-than-20-years/