Climate change and underwater cultural heritage: Impacts and challenges

Predictions forecast changes in climate that may affect cultural heritage in the future. Not only will our underwater cultural heritage become exposed, but also our land tangible cultural heritage will be submerged: entire nations and their cultural heritage may disappear, losing their identity. In fact, climate change has the potential to increase the sea level enough by 2100 to inundate 136 sites considered by UNESCO as cultural and historical treasures. However, climate change damage on cultural heritage is not only a warning as already it has caused damages to some cultural heritage. As a consequence, and although in the realm of archaeology preservation, in situ usually is the first option, climate change challenges the norm as it has an impact on cultural heritage. This study examines the specific climate changes that oceans will most likely suffer and how they will probably affect tangible cultural heritage. It also explores cases of heritage that already are suffering the consequences. Lastly, the article proposes a new partnership natural/cultural resources and the qualification of cultural heritage as a natural resource for its preservation, establishing the same common measures against climate change. (C) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.