The colorful and diverse sights that the ocean puts on for visitors is nothing short of spectacular, and underwater destinations all around the globe feature these sights. Reefs have become a popular tourist attraction all around the world because of the beautiful colors and the unique marine life that inhabits these reefs. However, these wonderful attractions are in peril and will remain so unless current trends change. The greenhouse gases humans release into the air are trapping heat and causing the ocean temperatures to rise (Emerging, 2015). However, with ocean temperatures on the rise, these beautiful sights are diminishing. Ocean water is becoming too warm for coral to survive and for other marine life to continue living comfortably. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average temperature change occurring between 1901 and 2015 was 0.13℉. Meaning, if this trend were to continue, the average ocean temperature in 2050 would be 0.195℉ higher than in 1901, which may seem minute, but impacts the ocean due to its sensitivity (Climate, 2016). Raising water temperatures will eliminate much of the coral in the oceans, thus having a domino effect on all other life on the planet, because basis for most food chains in the oceans that exists today by the year 2050. For thousands of years, civilizations have settled on coasts across the planet, inhabiting the seaside as a permanent residence. According to ScienceLearn.org, more than 50 percent of the world’s
As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, global warming will increase ocean temperatures and, along with that, the frequency and severity of bleaching events. In 2010, one of the hottest years in recorded human history, reefs bleached throughout the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean and off the coasts of Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Without the necessary reduction in the production of emissions, the death of the Great Barrier Reef will result in 6 billion dollars less in the economy and the loss of more than 50,000 jobs, If the oceans' corals were to collapse, the whole food chain will
Currently there is no saturation level above four in the world. If current trends continue, by 2060, there will be no location above 3.5 and by 2100, no place above 3. The negative trends are extremely concerning as the changing water levels are making the reefs’ survival more unlikely. The energy required for calcification increase, and thus calcification rates decrease. Because of the lack of growth, coral diversity plunges. Over half a million species have spent their life on coral reefs. Coral reefs are intricate exchange bazaars that pass nutrients to various animals. Without the reefs, this exchange would not be possible and the abating of the reefs contributes to the disappearance of the ecosystem as a whole. While ocean acidification is not the only reason for the withering reefs, it is the most detrimental. The effect of ocean acidification extends beyond just the coral reefs. This process affects marine animals’ tightly regulated internal chemistry such as metabolism, enzyme activity, and protein function. Ocean acidification alters the presence of key nutrients such as iron and nitrogen essential to animals. It will also make the ocean noisier (Kolbert 136-141). The implications of ocean acidification are interminable. Human realization is imperative to slow the rate at which ocean saturation is declining. The less carbon emissions released in the air, the less carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean which will inadvertently prove beneficial to the coral reefs, but also many other species dependent on the
It is crucial that we take actions to protect coral reefs from the damaging effects of climate change. By reducing the temperature increase we may be able to help save the coral reefs left for the future
The ocean is two-thirds of our planet a vast blue landscape home to many biomes which according to Boyce Thorne-Miller “(ecosystem types) corresponding to sets of environmental conditions that vary with depth, latitude, and longitude” (16). However, the ocean and its biomes is under attack from the changing environment. We can see this through coral reef biomes as they make their home near the shores. Through coral reefs we can view the effects that these changes have on the ocean through how the coral reef biome is affected. Humans are a danger to the coral reefs and the wildlife that resides in the biome. The pollution being released into the environment is poisoning the coral and causes death and malformation to the wildlife. The ocean is changing due to global warming which is causing a change in the temperature and rising water levels leading to a change in the stabile areas coral can survive. The increasing acidification of the ocean is causing the coral reefs to die. I will be looking at the effects these issues cause to coral reefs biomes and the ocean to see the similarities in how they affect both.
"Coral reefs… are fragile structures living within a narrow range of temperature, clarity, salinity and chemistry. Even a slight increase in ocean temperature, or increased CO2… can cause stresses such as bleaching… These stresses slow the rate of growth of the corrals… With some 60 percent of the world’s coral reefs now losing productivity, it’s becoming a global crisis and a scientific mystery."
Consisting of less than 1% of the world oceans, the coral reefs are ancient animals comprising of thin calcium carbonate deposits within the photic layer. Aside from its biologically diverse ecosystems, coral reefs are major source of food for millions and provides habitats and nursery areas for many marine organisms. Coral reefs also act as a physical buffer to protect the coastlines from tropical storms and erosion. In addition, many local communities rely on coral reefs to generate an income through activities such as fishing and diving. However, 75% of the coral reefs are under threat from induced impacts of humans and climate change (Burke, et al., 2011). This essay looks at the human impacts constantly being inflicted on coral reefs.
If you have ever lived in proximity to coastal areas you may have seen coastline erosion first hand. The beaches you frequent during the summer may seem to be getting smaller and smaller every year. Why does your favorite beach seem to be disappearing? Coastal erosion is to blame. The waves, wind, tides and currents all play a part in the mechanism that is coastal erosion. When water and wind batter the shoreline sediments are carried out to sea and deposited on the sea floor or at other points along the coastline. This is called an erosional coastline. This erosion may be very apparent or seem to have happened overnight when it happens due to a large storm or extremely high tide.
I examine how rising or falling tide can affect the water level of Corte Madera Salt Marsh in this report. The data is from Wednesday (June 19th) and Thursday (June 20th). My hypothesis is that tide and water level have positive relationship. From the result, I learn that the water level and tide have positive relationship. However, when tide changes its direction, the water level is likely to stay or little change.
Oceans are important when it comes to slowing down climate change, they absorbs heat and greenhouse gases but it becomes more acidic dues to carbon dioxide (Dorey, 2015). By 2045, the pH level of seawater is expected to reach 7.8, which is slightly more acidic than normal and many sea creatures will not survive in this condition (Dorey, 2015). The acidification makes it difficult for sea creatures with external shells or skeletons to develop their structures, creatures such as corals, planktons, and crabs may even start to dissolve when the pH levels are too high (Dorey, 2015). This poses a major threat to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, affecting the food chain from plankton to the fish at the top, and ultimately damaging the ecosystem. Coral reefs are sensitive even to the slightest changes in ocean temperatures, along with the ocean’s acidity, the coral reefs are unable to grow properly nor survive storms, resulting in the mortality of certain areas of the Great Barrier Reef (Dorey, 2015). It is expected that 95% of the existing coral reefs may be lost by 2050, and creatures that rely on the reefs for shelter will suffer (Dorey, 2015). Australia’s loss in its ocean resources and Great Barrier Reef will impact the ecosystems, affecting all life as climate change occurs too
The rise of sea levels are projected to increase warmer waters from one and a half to two degrees in Central North Pacific in 2050, 1.9 to 2.6 degrees in Northern Islands, and also two to five degrees in the Caribbean at the end of this century. This rise of temperature decreases the life of ecosystems in the ocean and resulting in less freshwater for
A warming ocean has already killed large chunks of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. On April 4, 2017, writer Eduardo Porter for The New York Times published an article called, “To Curb Global Warming, Science Fiction May Become Fact,” intended for the reader of the New York Times. The editorial talks about how if we don’t take action as soon as possible, climate change could indeed become a new thing. Scientist all over the world are discovering many areas throughout the planet that are increasing in temperature, and animals’ homes are being destroyed. The writer is able to create a better understanding on the dangers of a warming planet, by saying the earth is increasing in temperature all over the world, not only affecting different animals,
The article, Warming Bleaches Two-Thirds of Great Barrier Reef , talks about how Coral reef ecosystems around the world are threatened by human and climate change. The waters of the ocean are raising due to global warming, in turn
The oceans have been recorded to be rising in surface temperature, which in turn is causing fish to migrate to colder oceans near the poles; this disruption fisheries and other animals who prey on fish. The rise in temperature also can control currents, which caused a 40% increase in tropical storms since the 1950’s. The rise in temperature in our atmosphere has also caused for the melting of the ice caps, which has raised the sea levels almost 6.7 inches in the last century, with some locations on the eastern parts of Canada reading increases as high as 8 inches. These readings are more than double what they were in the previous century. The acidity of oceans is also increasing due to the increase of CO2 in the air. This is doing many things to different ecosystems such as coral reefs. The Great Coral Reef in Australia has lost half of its’ coral over the last 27 years alone. The rise in temperature and carbon dioxide causes the coral to bleach, which makes it weak and allows it to be destroyed very easily by any storms, or other predators. The rise in carbon emissions not only affects land life, but is also destroying our oceans as
These increasing ocean temperatures, which result in global warming, are mostly due to the amount of CO2 released in the air, therefore threatening the existence of the coral reef systems (Cole, Pratchett and Jones). The reduction of the coral reef ecosystems are attributed to the climate induced bleaching from the past decade. The loss of coral reef environments has direct affects to the habitat of an organism within the reefs (Cole, Pratchett and Jones), leading to a decrease in biodiversity (Coker, Pratchett and Munday).
Water takes up a larger percentage of the surface of our Earth than does land. The earth’s oceans are vital aspects to our environment and it is necessary that we take care of them. On another note, global warming is an issue that is having effects on almost all aspects of our environment. Global warming itself means a gradual increase in the temperature of our Earth’s atmosphere over large periods of time. There is evidence that global warming has occurred in the atmosphere, however, now we are beginning to see its effects in the world’s oceans, as well. Though some may not see the connection that it has with the oceans, it has had quite a profound effect on our Earth’s oceans. As I mentioned before, oceans are environments that must