Coral reefs like the Great Barrier Reef depend on a narrow set of environmental conditions within which they prosper. At the heart of their biology, is a symbiosis that they form with tiny plant-like organisms known as dinoflagellates (commonly called zooxanthellae). This symbiosis is critical to the survival of corals and coral reefs, making possible the efficient trapping of sunlight by reef-building corals. This allows them a cheap source of energy with which...
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Oceans
Great Barrier Reef Part 1: Current Conditions and Human Impacts
What’s the current state of the GBR (i.e. is it really “in fine fettle”)? Despite being one of the best managed marine ecosystems worldwide, there is evidence that the ecological ‘health’ of the Great Barrier Reef has declined since the arrival of European settlers into the Queensland region. This evidence comes from a number of key sources. This area is not without its controversy, which is discussed elsewhere at Skeptical Science by Professor John Bruno...
Ocean life on the brink of mass extinctions: study | Reuters
(Reuters) – Life in the oceans is at imminent risk of the worst spate of extinctions in millions of years due to threats such as climate change and over-fishing, a study showed on Tuesday. Continue reading via Ocean life on the brink of mass extinctions: study | Reuters.
Rising Seas Look Inevitable – ScienceNOW
Rising Seas Look Inevitable – ScienceNOW. It may be too late to stop the seas from eventually rising and flooding Earth’s coastlines. Even if humans manage to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions completely by the year 2100, ocean warming set in motion by the end of this millennium could trigger the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and flood New York City, Hong Kong, and other coastal cities, a new study suggests....
Is the End in Sight for The World’s Coral Reefs? by J.E.N. Veron
It is a difficult idea to fathom. But the science is clear: Unless we change the way we live, the Earth’s coral reefs will be utterly destroyed within our children’s lifetimes. by j.e.n. veron Over the past decades, there have dozens of articles in the media describing dire futures for coral reefs. In the 1960s and ‘70s, we were informed that many reefs were being consumed by a voracious coral predator, the crown-of-thorns starfish....
Study: Tuna black market worth billions of dollars
WASHINGTON — The craze for sushi has fueled a black market in tuna worth billions of dollars, as governments collaborate with the industry despite fears for the species’ survival, an investigation found. A seven-month probe by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists found that fishermen have willfully violated official quotas in order to supply the lucrative tuna market, which is dominated by Japan. The investigation covered 10 nations but found particular violations in France,...
Scientists: Caribbean coral die-off may be worst ever
Scientists studying Caribbean reefs say that 2010 may be the worst year ever for coral death there. Abnormally warm water since June appears to have dealt a blow to shallow and deep-sea corals that is likely to top the devastation of 2005, when 80% of corals were bleached and as many as 40% died in areas on the eastern side of the Caribbean.So Eli Kintisch reports at Science online. He explains: Bleaching occurs when...
NOAA – Scientists Find 20 Years of Deep Water Warming Leading to Sea Level Rise
September 20, 2010 Sea-level rise has the potential to reshape the coastal environment. High resolution (Credit: NOAA) Scientists analyzing measurements taken in the deep ocean around the globe over the past two decades find a warming trend that contributes to sea level rise, especially around Antarctica. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, cause heating of the Earth. Over the past few decades, at least 80 percent of this heat energy has...
Climate: New study slashes estimate of icecap loss
AFP – Wednesday, September 8SendIM StoryPrint PARIS (AFP) – – Estimates of the rate of ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica, one of the most worrying questions in the global warming debate, should be halved, according to Dutch and US scientists. In the last two years, several teams have estimated Greenland is shedding roughly 230 gigatonnes of ice, or 230 billion tonnes, per year and West Antarctica around 132 gigatonnes annually. Together, that...
Geological Society: Acidifying oceans spell marine biological meltdown “by end of century”
“Unless we curb carbon emissions we risk mass extinctions, degrading coastal waters and encouraging outbreaks of toxic jellyfish and algae.” August 31, 2010 A unique ‘natural laboratory’ in the Mediterranean Sea is revealing the effects of rising carbon dioxide levels on life in the oceans. The results show a bleak future for marine life as ocean acidity rises, and suggest that similar lowering of ocean pH levels may have been responsible for massive extinctions...