A new long-term study of French Polynesia's Tuamotu atolls has found that almost all of them have withstood rising seas.
The study was carried out by French scientists of the University of La Rochelle who assessed the status of 111 atolls since the 1960s.
Published in the scientific journal Global and Planetary Change, the study says 77 percent of the atolls maintained their size.
It found 15 percent of atolls got bigger while eight percent got smaller.
The study established that cyclonic waves have added sediment to atolls.
It also says 57 percent of islands are disturbed by human activities and 26 percent have lost the capacity to respond to ocean-climate related pressures.