Researchers have been drawn to the Maldive Islands south of India, which was considered “ground zero” for the theory of climate change supposedly erasing low-lying islands off the map, according to the New York Times. These islands were considered most susceptible to changes because they are not traditional islands, but rather “atolls” where sand and sediment accumulate above coral reefs and become shifting islands. For an entire nation this is where the land meets the sea, and even the capital city, Malé, is officially only four feet above sea level.