Half the world's sandy beaches may be wiped away by the end of the century due to rising sea levels and other climate change effects, new research has found.
A large proportion of shoreline in densely populated areas is projected to be lost as rising seas, changing weather patterns and other factors erode sandy beaches that now account for more than a third of global sea coasts.
The study showed Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, China and the United States will be among the hardest hit.
Lead author of the study, coastal oceanographer Michalis Vousdoukas of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy said: "Touristic areas which have sandy beaches as their main selling point will probably face strong consequences."
Mr Vousdoukas added that sandy shorelines also play a vital environmental role.
"Sandy beaches are important habitats supporting a wide range of species. They also protect the coast from the effects of storms, so without sandy beaches other inland environments can be affected by the effects of waves and saltwater intrusion," he said.
A rise in global sea levels has accelerated in recent decades, with the major causes seen as thermal expansion - water expands as it warms - and melting of land-based ice such as glaciers and ice sheets.
The researchers analysed satellite images showing shoreline changes during the past three decades and applied these trends to two climate change scenarios looking forward, one envisioning a moderate mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change and the other envisioning high emissions.
By 2050, the researchers projected losses of 13.6% to 15.2% of global beaches, amounting to 22,430 to 25,172 miles of lost sandy shorelines.
By 2100, they projected losses of 35.7% to 49.5% of beaches spanning 59,068 to 81,862 miles.
Australia would lose more sandy shoreline than any other country, with up to 9,227 miles projected to be gone by 2100, about half its current total sandy coastline.
Canada ranks second in projected losses (up to 8,963 miles), followed by Chile (up to 4,138 miles), Mexico (up to 3,410 miles), China (up to 3,380 miles), the US (up to 3,436 miles), Russia (up to 2,959 miles) and Argentina (up to 2,323 miles)
