...by the ocean, causing the sea surface temperature to increase. Rising sea surface temperature breaks the symbiosis between coral and their symbiotic zooxanthellae and results in rapid coral bleaching. (Buddemeier, Kleypas, & Aronson, 2004) If the rise in water temperature persists, the coral colony may die because of a continuous loss of zooxanthellae. (Markey, 2006) Therefore, the prediction that increased atmospheric levels of CO2 will have a negative impact on coral reefs is supported. Arguments have aroused over whether coral reefs will be harmed by rising water temperature resulting from the increased atmospheric CO2 concentration. Some claimed that although the higher carbon dioxide concentration may contribute to the increase in seawater temperature, the rise in seawater temperature does not account for...
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...SOS 220 Coral Reefs vs. Climate Change Corals reefs around the world have been fighting climate change for just over two centuries. This problem hasn’t caught much attention to the average human eye, but it’s about time everybody realizes how this is affecting their everyday lives as well. Coral bleaching is one of the main concerns with coral reefs around the world. Coral bleaching can be fatal to coral reefs, which in return could hurt us in the future. Ocean acidification is another problem that coral reefs are facing around the world. Not only is it harmful to the coral reefs but harmful to marine life as well. Although these are all negative actions towards coral reefs there can be a bright...
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...Much attention has been focused on the effects of climate change on the ocean. Even with its vast capacity to absorb heat and carbon dioxide, the physical impacts of climate change on the ocean are now very clear and dramatic. The ocean’s water temperature is on a constant rise. The temperature isn’t rising in drastic numbers, but it is gradually rising and causing problems in our oceans. There are three major ways these warm temperatures are affecting our oceans such as coral bleaching, fish migration, and ocean acidification. Coral bleaching is caused when water is too warm, which the warm water causes the coral to expel the algae living in their tissues turning it completely white. Many species live on and thrive in coral reefs, along with the coral reef providing protection for many animals. Consequently, mass coral bleaching results in the starvation and death of the corals that support the thousands of species that live on coral reefs. Coral bleaching also results in the declining in genetic and species diversity. The effects of coral bleaching cause an abundance of problems toward the ecosystem and the species living on that coral....
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...Coral bleaching is caused by the changing temperatures of the ocean. Ninety-three percent of climate change heat is absorbed by the ocean. This means that as the temperatures rises from global warming, so does the ocean. Coral are unable to adapt to the changing heat at the rate that it is changing. Under normal conditions, the algae perform photosynthesis and provide nutrients that provide the coral with energy to continue to build. However, with the rising temperature this makes it difficult for the algae to photosynthesize. Bleaching is caused by a response from the changing temperatures in the ocean. As the temperatures rise, this causes the relationship between the coral and algae to break down. The algae are unable to process the sun’s...
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...their survival, this threat is coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is a growing issue for most reefs around the world, this is when coral turn white, or bleach, as they either die or become dormant. To try and manage this, governments initiate laws and restrictions to save the reef, yet people still continue to damage it both intentionally and unintentionally. Issue to Reef’s coral bleaching is the issue The issue to reefs is the human induced climate change that causes the water temperature and ocean acidification to rise. These cause the coral to be unable to live so it releases a substance called zooxanthellae, the substance which gives the coral colour, leaving the coral with a ‘bleached’ look. Another factor for coral bleaching is ocean acidification, this is when the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The ocean has already absorbed 1/3 of the carbon dioxide and ½ of the fossil fuels from factories and other human activities....
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...People may not be aware of coral bleaching since it is happening below the surface. Coral bleaching is happening as the ocean temperature rises. This can affect many species and humans. Coral bleaching is when the coral tissue has turned white or “bleached”. Bleaching takes place when ocean water warms up, stressing the coral, which then causes them to expel zooxanthellae. When coral expel the zooxanthellae, they are exposing their white skeleton. Coral bleaching can also be caused by disease, increased light, pollution from the land and over fishing. Excrement of nutrients from farms and industrial chemicals are also a threat to coral reefs. Bleaching also leave coral prone to disease which can be lethal to coral reef communities. Bleaching can cause a great amount of death within coral reef communities because of disease increase. It can take some time before the corals can recover from bleaching. They can recover from bleaching if the temperature of the water decreases. Critical or long-term bleaching is most likely deadly. Almost one and a half square miles of reef bleached last year are now completely dead (NOAA, 2015)...
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...Describe the conditions which provide the best environment for the growth of coral and explain how coral may be threatened by changes to those conditions. A coral reef provides one of the most important natural habitats in the world, sheltering enormous amounts of biodiversity with its solid calcium carbonate skeleton. More than 25 percent of all fish biodiversity on the planet Earth is associated with the coral reef ecosystem. Coral reefs require fairly specific environmental conditions in order to thrive. Coral reefs and the zooxanthellae algae living within the cell walls of coral polyps must have adequate sunlight and warm salt water - water that gets no colder than 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).Optimal conditions for coral growth require water temperatures between 73.4 and 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit (23 to 29 degrees Celsius). Coral reefs survive best in the waters between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator, mostly in the Pacific and Indian oceans. They also thrive in clear waters with little or no floating particles that can filter out or block direct sunlight. Shallow-water coral grows approximately 3.9 inches (9.9 centimeters) per year, given these optimal conditions. For example, the coasts alongside Oman are an ideal place for coral growth. While tropical shallow-water coral reefs have been studied much more extensively, there are also species of coral that live in deep-water conditions, from about 50 to 2,000 meters (about 165...
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...carbonate ions and makes them less available.This gives off Ions That corals, oysters, mussels, and many other shelled organisms need to build shells and skeletons. The pH of the oceans fluctuates within limits as a result of natural processes , and ocean organisms are most likely to survive the changes that they experience. Some marine species may be able to adapt to more extreme changes but not all. A More acidic ocean however , will not destroy all marine species lives, some marine species are actually able to live through this. Reef-building corals craft their own homes from calcium carbonate. forming complex reefs that house the coral animals all by themselves and provide a place for other organisms to stay. Acidification may affect corals before they can even start building their homes. Acidification can limit coral growth. How much trouble coral runs into will definitely vary by...
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...Causes of Global Warming and its present and future impacts on South-West Western Australia Global Warming is an issue at the heart of modern civilisation. The prospect of a rapidly changing global enviroment is enough to cause considerable concern towards life on earth for future generations. Therefore it is important to understand how climate change works, what is causing the climate to change, what effects these changes are having, and how they may continue to affect the global environment. What causes the environments on earth unable to support life? What can be done about these predictions of climates in the future? How will these climate changes affect South-West Western Australia? How does climate change work? Climate change is a natural process that has been functioning on earth for billions of years, it is the regulator of the earth's abililty to support life by the cycles of The Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse Effect has made the earth an environment for supporting life through the cycling of energy from the sun via short-wave radiation, which heats the earths surface, then is released into the atmopshere as long-wave radiation. This cycle is made possible by the prescence of Greenhouse gases, which redside in the earths atmopshere, and absorb most of the long-wave radiation given off by the earth, with the remainder being expelled into space. This process cycles the heat from the sun around the earths atmosphere and a climate is the result, without this circulation...
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...Climate Change and the IPCC o What is the IPCC? - Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, created in 1988, first assessment report in 1990 launched global awareness of climate change issue. How the IPCC works - Thousands of scientists contribute to writing and reviewing reports. Does not carry out new research or monitor climate related data. There are 3 working groups and a special tasks force. Terminology – 99%-100% (Virtually Certain) 90%-100% (Very Likely) 66%-100 (Likely) 33%-60% (About as likely as not) 0%-33% (Unlikely) 0%-10% (Very Unlikely) 0%-1% (Exceptionally Unlikely) o Causes of climate change Relative forcing components – Long-live greenhouse gases (Global), Ozone (Continental to Global), Stratospheric water vapor from methane (Global), Surface albedo, Aerosol (Direct Affect, Cloud Albedo Affect, Surface to Continental), Linear Contrails (Continental) , Solar irradiance (Global) Earth’s energy budget & human use Quadrillion BTU 100% Incoming Solar Energy Wood 64% - Radiated to space Coal 51% - Absorbed by land and oceans Oil &Gas 23% - Carried to clouds Hydropower &Nuclear (1900-) 20% - Reflected by clouds 16% - Absorbed by atmosphere 15% - Radiation absorbed by atmosphere 7% - Conduction and rising air 6% - Reflected by atmosphere 6% - Radiated directly into space 4% - Reflected from Earth’s surface 3% - Absorbed by clouds Greenhouse gases (types and impact)...
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...levels in oceans are on the rise, which could have many adverse affects on marine life. (Johnson 2014) The primary contributor to the increased levels of oceanic acidity is human activity. Human activity has made great leaps in the quality of its life over the past two hundred years, but our advancements seem to have come at a cost: the loss of biodiversity in the oceans. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, there has been an enormous increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere (Johnson 2014). The ocean absorbs more than a third of CO2 from the atmosphere (Anthony 2011). When CO2 and water react with each other they release hydrogen ions which increases ocean acidity. Johnson (2011) states that...
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...temperature. The decade of 2000-2010 has been the hottest decade since the 1980’s (Climate Hot). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the average temperature of the earth has risen over 2.1 degrees (Enloe). Over the 50 years, the number of record low temperature around the world has declined (Climate). Since the 1970’s, the average temperatures between November and February in the USA have increased by 1-2 degrees (Global Warming And). As mentioned earlier, global warming is causing the atmosphere to be warm up more than usual. You may be thinking, “Well, what can an increase in one or two degrees do?” Well if the Greene 2 atmosphere temperature rises, then the ocean temperature will rise. “The ocean temperature has risen by .58 degrees and is predicted to rise another degree” (The Ocean). “Since the earth is 71% water that can affect a lot of things” (Ocean). Some things...
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...Evaluate the relative importance of global and local threats to one named global ecosystem – 15 Coral Reefs are a unique ecosystem, which usually grow in conditions where the temperate is around 24c and in less than 25m depth of water. Coral reefs are homes to over 25% of known sea creatures and are an invaluable service for the local population as a source of food and income. Coral Reefs are under huge stress due to the impact that human activities are having and in fact already 1/5 of the world’s coral reefs are so damaged that they are beyond repair. A global threat, which is affecting all fragile ecosystems, including coral reefs, is global warming. Firstly, the average increase in global temperatures is leading to an increased rate of ice cap melting. The melting of the ice caps releases more fresh water into the oceans, reducing salinity. The increased water volume is also increasing sea level rise; coral reefs find it difficult to survive in over 27m depth of water. The increase in sea temperatures can also change the nutrient flow. Coral bleaching is a devastating side effect of global warming which affects the corals. Coral bleaching is permanent damage and is occurring globally. The effects of the bleaching are worsened during El Nino years; in 1990 almost 50% of the worlds coral reefs were severely damaged. The most damaged reefs were in the Persian Gulf where 65% had been destroyed, followed by reefs in South Asia where 45% and 38% respectively, were considered...
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...Ocean Acidification Ocean Acidification is an ongoing pressing issue that has been present within our underwater ecosystems for decades. The issue of ocean acidification poses multiple challenges to marine life along with straining the incomes of fishermen and shellfish farmers. The crucial matter that we are experiencing firsthand is that marine life is being threatened every day. (Kroeker, Kordas, Crim, & Singh, 2010). These threats are being imposed by a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration levels which as a result, reduces the pH levels of the ocean and is therefore threatening calcification rates, dissolution, development, and survival. (Kroeker, Kordas, Crim, & Singh, 2010). As oceans are consuming more carbon dioxide,...
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...international policies to help protect coral reefs? Section 1: Coral Reefs are an important ecosystem that our planet needs to function correctly. Coral is a living organism that forms in colonies which can stretch out for hundreds of miles long and are then called coral reefs. These coral reefs are habitats for a large number of marine species. There are about 600,000 km of coral reef worldwide (State of the Reefs). Most reefs today are about 8,000 years old, and there are records of some being as much as 2.5 million years old (Dimitrov). The ecosystems of coral reefs have the “largest (amount) biodiversity per unit of area on earth” (Dimitrov). Scientists have discovered 93,000 coral reef species; however some estimate that there could be from 950,000 to as much as 9 million different species of coral reef (Dimitrov). Coral reefs are the second largest ecosystem next to tropical rainforests on Earth. The deterioration of coral reefs is a huge warning sign for everyone internationally to implement more policies on coral reef conservation. The problem that is happening internationally is the deterioration of coral reefs. Coral reefs are one of the most endangered ecosystems worldwide. For the first time in history they will be included on the World Conservation Union’s red list of threatened species (Oliver). According to the United Nations Environment Program and the Nature Conservancy, “around 30 percent of the world's coral reefs are already damaged, some irreparably...
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