Sea level rise threatening Sable Island’s wild horses and unique biodiversity

Climate change is having visible impacts on Sable Island, which threatens the wildlife living on the remote sandbar.

Sable Island is located 300 km southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia and is famous for the hundreds of wild horses that roam the island free from human interference.

The island is iconic for its historic significance — Europeans first visited the crescent-shaped sandbar roughly 500 years ago and the island has caused the demise of over 350 ships, earning itself the ominous nickname "Graveyard of the Atlantic."

sable island Credit: (Jewelsy. iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Sable Island is managed and protected by Parks Canada. (Jewelsy. iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Today, only a small number of federal government employees staff the island and each year a limited number of individuals are granted permission to visit.

Despite Sable Island's remote location, experts say that climate change looms and sea level rise is having rapid impacts.

Watch the video above to see what Jordan Eamer, a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada, has to say about how Sable Island will fare against the changing climate.

Thumbnail credit: Jewelsy. iStock / Getty Images Plus