I just had a read of the article quoted above. I have pasted the relevant bit here: (my emphasis)
"The study findings may seem counter-intuitive given that sea level has been rising in the region over the past half-century, co-author Paul Kench said. "But the dominant mode of change over that time on Tuvalu has been expansion, not erosion." T
he study identified waves to be the main change driver for "island morphological adjustment". Waves, and in particular, storm waves influence the shape and size of islands. For example, Cyclone Bebe in 1972 delivered significant volumes of coarse sediment to the Funafuti reef flat, which expanded the footprint of the islands on their eastern rim over the next four decades. "We tend to think of Pacific atolls as static landforms that will simply be inundated as sea levels rise but there is growing evidence these islands are geologically dynamic and are constantly changing," Professor Kench said.
TUVALU FACT FILE - The country is comprised of 101 islands
- It is spread over nine atolls, scattered across nearly a million square kilometres of Pacific Ocean
- Its total land mass is only 26 square kms (just bigger than Auckland's Rangitoto Island)
- The country had a net increase in land area of 2.9 percent or 73 hectares over 40 years
- Sea level rise rates were over 3.5mm per year.