Sea levels are going to rise, but by how much? According to a study that calculates which UNESCO Heritage Sites are at risk, it looks like almost everything is going to be at the bottom of the sea in the future.

Published in the Environmental Research Letters, the study looks at how the current rate of sea level change will affect UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It involves extrapolating what we know about the current sea level rise, and combined with historical models of glacier and ice sheet melt.

The team's findings are upsetting. Over the next 2,000 years, temperatures are going to increase by

, by necessity, pretty upsetting. If the current trend of sea level rise continues, temperatures will increase 5.4 degree Fahrenheit over the next 2,000 years. One fifth of the sites will be underwater. 

Ben Marzeion, the University of Innsbruck professor who is lead author on the study, explained the implications to the Guardian:
It's relatively safe to say that we will see the first impacts at these sites in the 21st century. Typically when people talk about climate change it's about the economic or environmental consequences, how much it's going to cost. We wanted to take a look at the cultural implications.

The full list of sites are here. Including the Sydney Opera House:



And Statue of Liberty:



Some history parts of Amsterdam is also going under, along with Goa, Pompeii, Istanbul and all of Venice. Would knowing this now help us build massing damming structures? Or really really high skyscrapers?

[Environmental Research Letters; The Guardian Top Image via DeviantArt]