Posted on 12/14/2007 8:41:13 AM PST by cogitator
The journal Science has published a paper that is the most comprehensive review to date of the effects rising ocean temperatures are having on the world's coral reefs. The Carbon Crisis: Coral Reefs under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification, co-authored by seventeen marine scientists from seven different countries, reveals that most coral reefs will not survive the drastic increases in global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 unless governments act immediately to combat current trends.
The paper, the cover story for this week's issue of Science, paints a bleak picture of a future without all but the most resilient coral species if atmospheric CO2 levels continue on their current trajectory. Marine biodiversity, tourism and fishing industries and the food security of millions are at risk, the paper warns. Coral reef fisheries in Asia currently provide protein for one billion people and the total net economic value of services provided by corals is estimated to be $30 billion.
Dr. Bob Steneck, of the University of Maine and co-author of the paper, said the time was right for international leaders to commit to meaningful action to save the world's coral reefs: "The science speaks for itself. We have created conditions on Earth unlike anything most species alive today have experienced in their evolutionary history. Corals are feeling the effects of our actions and it is now or never if we want to safeguard these marine creatures and the livelihoods that depend on them."
Scientists have long thought that the effects of climate change and the resulting acidification of the oceans spells trouble for reefs. Coral skeletons are made of calcium, and reef development requires plenty of carbonate ions to build these skeletons, a process called calcification. When carbon dioxide is absorbed in the ocean, the pH level drops, along with the amount of carbonate ions, slowing the growth of coral reefs.
Atmospheric CO2 levels are currently at 380 parts per million (ppm) and the paper's authors, members of the Coral Reef Targeted Research and Capacity Building for Management Program (CRTR), calculate that once levels reach 560ppm, the calcification process could be reduced by up to 40 percent. Recent science also suggests that by 2100 the oceans will be so acidic that 70 percent of the habitat for deep-water corals, once considered relatively safe from the effects of climate change, will be uninhabitable.
Ocean acidification is just one example of the threats corals are facing. Bleaching, a process that is triggered when summer sea temperatures rise above normal for weeks at a time, causes corals to expel the algae that gives them their colour and nutrients. This phenomenon killed 16 percent of reef-building corals in 1997, according to the paper's authors. Destructive fishing methods, oil and gas exploration and pollution have also contributed to the global decline of coral reefs, with 20 percent already destroyed and another 50 percent threatened or verging on collapse in just the past few decades.
Consumer demand has also placed corals at risk. Popular products include coral jewelry, home decor items and live animals used in home aquaria. Corals grow so slowly it can take decades for them to recover, if at all. Catches of precious red corals, the most valuable of all coral species, provide a striking example of how demand for a fashion item can decimate a species. Red coral populations have plummeted 89 percent in the past two decades. Conscientious companies such as Tiffany and Co. removed real coral from their product lines over five years ago.
Fernanda Kellogg, president of The Tiffany and Co. Foundation, said, "Tiffany and Co. is committed to obtaining precious materials in ways that are socially and environmentally responsible. We decided to stop using real coral in our jewelry and feel that there are much better alternatives that celebrate the beauty of the ocean without destroying it."
Yet there is hope for corals and the life that depends on them. Scientists are calling for a reduction of carbon emissions to ensure corals' survival. It is also vitally important to reduce local pressures on corals such as overfishing, removal for consumer items, and pollution. If these local pressures are addresssed, coral populations will be stronger and will have a better chance of surviving climate change. Tiffany and Co. is forming new partnerships with fashion designers, scientists and conservation organizations to raise awareness of the urgent need for coral conservation.
Dawn M. Martin, president of SeaWeb, said, "Corals belong in the ocean, not in our homes or in our jewelry boxes. Consumers and the fashion industry can play an important role in the ocean's recovery by simply avoiding purchases of red and other corals. These jewels of the sea are simply too precious to wear."
In 2008, scientists, conservationists and governments will mobilize around the world to celebrate the International Year of the Reef (IYOR), a worldwide initiative to raise awareness of the importance of corals and coral reefs. The 11th International Coral Reef Symposium will be held July 7-11, 2008, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Over 2,500 attendees from academic, government and conservation organizations are expected to attend to discuss the latest coral science and its implications for the survival of these international treasures.
Otherwise known as carbonate ion.
Seriously, I do not understand what they are actually measuring.
Carbon dioxide is C0^2, that that is two atoms of Oxygen attached to a single Carbon atom.
? No. I think you need to learn some chemistry first.
You are correct, but I was hoping someone other than myself would explain this to our other Freepers.
Sometimes, I say things that are rather stupid, in an effort to get someone else to show exactly why I was wrong.
The cartoon that you made me look at makes no mention of equilibria.
But Wikipedia present a reasonably simple demonstration of the effect of buffering (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acid)
For example, an atmosphere with 350 ppm CO2 over water will produce a pH of 5.65. If that is tripled to 1000 ppm CO2, the water will indeed increase in acidity...to a pH of 5.42 (negligable change). Likewise if we engage in Algore’s wet dream and decrease atmospheric CO2 to 100 ppm, the pH rises to 5.92.
But over this whole range (100 ppm to 1000 ppm CO2) the carbonate ion concentration changes by 0.7%. Your cartoon is incorrect in that it suggests that more CO2 will result in less carbonate ion...the opposite is true, but the reality is that more CO2 will have only a negligable effect.
The biological effects of algae or pollution would be far more significant. Local temperature variations (El Nino, etc) would also play a larger role. But blaming coral death on a carbonate ion shortage, from MORE CO2, is laughable.
From a first grader’s book:
Experiment #1
Begin the experiment “Acid Rain on the Reef” by discussing acid rain. Then explain to the students that chalk contains limestone just like the coral reefs. Explain to the students that this experiment will show how acid rain can harm the reef. Explain that each group will be given two pieces of chalk, which will represent the coral reef, a cup containing a vinegar/water mixture, which will represent the acid rain, and a cup of fresh water. The students will place a piece of chalk in each cup. Using a marker, students will write “acid” on the vinegar/water cup. Students will store cups overnight. Students will predict what will happen to the chalk in each cup.
From my own personal aquariums, I know that this is absolutely false.
I was hoping that other Freepers would help explain why this was impossible.
See my post above.
Experiment #2
Begin the experiment “Acid Rain on the Reef” by discussing acid rain. Then explain to the students that chalk contains limestone just like the coral reefs. Explain to the students that this experiment will show how acid rain can harm the reef.
Explain that each group will be given two pieces of chalk, which will represent the coral reef, and two cups of saltwater.
The students will place a piece of chalk in each cup. Using a marker, students will write “acid” on one of the cups.
With the cup labled as "acid", the student will exhale into the cup and infuse it with Carbon dioxide from the student's breath.
Students will store cups overnight. Students will predict what will happen to the chalk in each cup.
The big lie of climate change cultists is that all species must remain exactly as they are and remain at 2007 levels forever. This has never been the case. The Earth warms, the Earth cools, new species appear, old species vanish. It has ever been so. If the coral dies, it will grow somewhere else, or a different organism we have yet to see will take its place. What is so nuts is that the most fervent "environmentalists" seem to have the least knowledge of how the environment actual functions.
This is the most ridiculous science conclusion ever.
Coral evolved in a time when CO2 levels were hundreds of times higher than today (possibly as high as 20,000 ppm.)
500 million years ago, CO2 levels were 7,000 ppm versus today’s measly 380 ppm. The ocean at the time was completely dominated by shell-based lifeforms like trilobites and amonites and corals.
Ridiculous (but story completely bought hook line and sinker by the global warming advocates.)
The seawater alkalinity system, largely (but not completely) due to the carbonate equilibria, is why this happens.
Don't bother telling me; email your report to the authors.
And please reply with their verbatim response.
Corals don’t live in fresh water.
On another subject, I loved hearing about your early years of obtaining satellite data.
In 1972, I had to place the path of the TIROS satellite on a polar projection of the Earth with a clear plastic template. Overlaid over my location on the Earth, was another plastic template, which could be used to figure out the azimuth and elevation. I would then write down the azimuth and elevation of the satellite for each minute that is would pass over my location.
Each minute, I would manually move the antenna to it's predicted position.
An oscilloscope would draw a line across it's screen, in response to the signal from the satellite. A Polaroid camera would record what was being shown on the oscilloscope.
If you did everything perfectly, you could actually locate a major storm over the United States.
35 years later, I am still doing the same thing.
Correction: increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration has measurably changed the pH of surface waters and the saturation state of surface waters with respect to calcium carbonate.
You need to find and read this reference:
Feely, R.A., C.L. Sabine, K. Lee, W. Berelson, J. Kleypas, V.J. Fabry, and F.J. Millero (2004) Impact of anthropogenic CO2 on the CaCO3 system in the oceans. Science, 305, 362–366.
Abstract: Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations over the past two centuries have led to greater CO2 uptake by the oceans. This acidification process has changed the saturation state of the oceans with respect to calcium carbonate (CaCO3) particles. Here we estimate the in situ CaCO3 dissolution rates for the global oceans from total alkalinity and chlorofluorocarbon data, and we also discuss the future impacts of anthropogenic CO2 on CaCO3 shell-forming species. CaCO3 dissolution rates, ranging from 0.003 to 1.2 micromoles per kilogram per year, are observed beginning near the aragonite saturation horizon. The total water column CaCO3 dissolution rate for the global oceans is approximately 0.5 ± 0.2 petagrams of CaCO3-C per year, which is approximately 45 to 65% of the export production of CaCO3."
Here's a complete list of Dr. Feely's publications:
You might also want to check out Contribution 2726.
Totally outside of anything that can happen on the Earth, but as a test of the buffering abilities of saltwater, an experiment that I may perform.
In all honesty, I have no idea what the pH results would be. You got me rather curious.
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