Great Barrier Reef 'won't survive acidic ocean'

[wilson]

n less than 50 years, oceans may be too acidic for coral reefs to grow because of carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels by humans, according to new research.

And unless still rising carbon dioxide emissions fall in the near future, existing reefs could all be dying by 2100, scientists said.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral expanse, and Caribbean reefs will be among the first casualties, according to the scientists who worked on a major coral project worldwide.

The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Science, should serve as a warning to delegates to a UN climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, this week, the researchers said.

"We need rapid reductions in carbon dioxide levels," said Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a marine science professor at Australia's University of Queensland and a lead author of the study.

"The impact of climate change on coral reefs is much closer than we appreciated," he said in a telephone interview from Australia. "It's just around the corner."

The study found emissions of carbon dioxide, the main "greenhouse" gas contributing to global warming, are boosting acidity so much that sea water covering 98 per cent of all coral reefs may be too acidic by 2050 for some corals to live, and while others may survive they would be unable to build reefs.

"Unless we take action soon there is a real possibility that coral reefs, and everything that depends on them, will not survive this century," researcher Ken Caldeira said.

Coral reefs, delicate undersea structures resembling rocky gardens that are made by tiny animals called coral polyps, are important nurseries and shelters for fish and other sea life.

They are also considered valuable protection for coastlines from high seas.

Reefs are a critical source of food for millions of people and are important for tourism from Australia to the islands of the Caribbean and the Florida Keys.

They produce $476 billion a year in economic value worldwide, according to The Nature Conservancy environmental group, and are considered a storehouse of potential 21st century medicines for cancer and other diseases.

The polyps secrete calcium carbonate to build the stony base of the reef.

Corals grow slowly, as little as one centimetre per year and the fragile structures they create are easily damaged by ship groundings, storms and other threats.

The researchers, who based their work on computer simulations of ocean chemistry, said about one-third of carbon dioxide, or CO2, put into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean, slowing global warming but polluting the sea.

The CO2 produces carbonic acid, the substance that gives soft drinks their fizz. The acid reduces concentrations of carbonate-ions, which are critical to reef building.

Current levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are 380 parts per million, researchers said, but rising quickly as humans increase their emissions by burning fossil fuels.

If trends hold, the concentration could rise to 880 ppm by 2100. But even if atmospheric CO2 stabilised at 550 ppm, which would take a concerted international effort, no existing coral reef could survive, the researchers said.

"We have the world at stake here. It's a global emergency," said Hoegh-Guldberg. "We've got to have (CO2) levels falling by 2015."

Australian and Caribbean reefs are at the greatest risk because they already have lower carbonate-ion concentrations and therefore would "reach critical levels sooner," he said.

The research should serve as a warning to those who look after reefs to ramp up the fight against other threats to them, which include overfishing, pollution from nearby land and a host of diseases, the researchers said.

"We need to think of this as the straw that broke the camel's back," said Peter Sale of the United Nations University.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/sto ... d=10482355

[wilson]

very bad news

[Cheesejawa]

talkin to yourself? lol

[Dixon1990]

very very bad news

[wasp]

Quote from the article - "We've got to have (CO2) levels falling by 2015."

Can't see that happening.

One thing that bugs me about this whole thing is we have carbon trading and all sorts of political hocus pocus, like they think they are achieving something. But fossil fuel consumption world wide continues to increase, and in fact Saudi Arabia increased oil output just a few weeks back as a favour to the US to knock back rising oil prices.

But when you think about it only one thing is going to slow carbon emmissions, and that is taking less fossil fuel out of the ground. Long as it keeps increasing, Co2 emmissions will keep increasing, no amount of carbon trading or Kyoto agreements or whatever will change anything.

[slappers]

who cares we all dead by then

[Fmxmatt]

Well, hard to know if we'll be dead, but the world will be a very different place after 23rd December 2012

That and what these idiots who make up these stories aren't tell you, is that carbon emmissions produced by humans makes up 0.2% of all of the carbon emmissions... yes shit is happening, but we aren't to blame. I find it amusing that people assume that the earth has reached a certain point, and any "change" is our fault. Sure we're using up the natural resources etc, but whether we are here or not, the earth was going to change anyway

[camnbron]

Well, hard to know if we'll be dead, but the world will be a very different place after 23rd December 2012

Whats happening then? Is somebody having a kick-arse party or something?!?

[reef]

I find it amusing that people assume that the earth has reached a certain point, and any "change" is our fault. Sure we're using up the natural resources etc, but whether we are here or not, the earth was going to change anyway

The earth would have changed anyway but there is no doubt that Humans are speed it up with all the pollution and distruction we done to the land etc.

[Southerrrngirrl]

Well, hard to know if we'll be dead, but the world will be a very different place after 23rd December 2012

That and what these idiots who make up these stories aren't tell you, is that carbon emmissions produced by humans makes up 0.2% of all of the carbon emmissions... yes shit is happening, but we aren't to blame. I find it amusing that people assume that the earth has reached a certain point, and any "change" is our fault. Sure we're using up the natural resources etc, but whether we are here or not, the earth was going to change anyway

Its 21 December 2012: http://www.december212012.com/

Its apparently a very important date to a lot of religions and lots ofpeople have predicted that it will be the end of the world. :roll: can't help but think.. would it be such a bad thing??

[fish-unit]

:bounce:

[Fmxmatt]

Oops 21st then..

It depends on what you look at (and in some ways believe) but that date is the end of the Mayan Calender. The Mayans being an ancient race of people who had an extremely vast knowledge of astronomy. They lived approx 1000BC (Dont quote me on this its what I"m trying to remember) and clearly knew the world wasn't flat, and knew all about orbits, and even how many planets are in our solar system.

Pre Colombian Americans didn't take well to them, and murdered most of the race and destroyed the majority of all their documents/artifacts.

[slappers]

2012 that when the sun will be at its starting point again,from when it first started so many billions of years ago

[Ira]

The world is boned no matter what, there's nothing that we can do about it. Why worry that your carpet is getting ash on it when you're trapped in a burning house without any fire extinguishers?

[Fmxmatt]

Lol exactly!!!

Enjoy life while you can