Bleaching May Have Killed Half the Coral on the Northern Great Barrier Reef, Scientists Say
Source: New York Times
MAY 29, 2016
SYDNEY, Australia — Mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in the past three months has killed as much as half of the coral in the north but left large parts of the southern reaches with only minor damage, scientists in Australia said on Sunday.
The current bleaching is the third to strike the roughly 1,400-mile-long reef in 18 years and the most extreme scientists have recorded.
“In the north, the mortality rates are off the scale,” said Prof. Terry Hughes, the director of the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, based at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland. “There, the coral mortality rates are approaching 50 percent, and the impact of the bleaching is still unfolding.”
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Bleaching occurs when water temperatures rise as little as 1 degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The coral then expels tiny colorful algae, causing it to turn white. The coral can recover if the water temperature drops and the algae, known as zooxanthellae, recolonize it. Otherwise it may die.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/world/asia/bleaching-coral-death-great-barrier-reef.html
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What if the Ocean Dies?
by Robert Hunziker / August 23rd, 2013
A slow motion ‘death march’ is already well underway.
The following excerpt is taken from an interview with Dr. Alex Rogers, professor, University of Cambridge and Scientific Director, International Programme on the State of the Ocean:
The change we’re seeing at the moment is taking place extremely rapidly… We’re seeing levels of pH [a measure of acidity] in the ocean that probably haven’t been experienced for 55 million years… I find it very difficult to tell people what a scary situation we’re in at the moment. The oceans are changing in a huge way, and I am particularly worried for my grandchildren. The changes we thought would happen in the future… We’re actually seeing them now.
The ocean is the lifeblood of the world, and the survival of humanity is inextricably linked to its health. According to the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (“IPSO”), the “Global State of the Ocean Report” is due to be published soon in 2013, but according to IPSO: “We already know that the ocean’s health is in a critical state.”
The ocean (1) creates more than half of our oxygen; (2) it drives weather systems; (3) it modulates the atmosphere, and (4) it provides vital resources. As it happens, the ocean transcends national borders to maintain life everywhere on Earth. Yet, lamentably, the ocean is used and abused like a local trash dump on the edge of town, circa 1950s. And, connecting the dots of (1) ocean health or (2) ocean degradation and (3) survival of humanity is an exercise easily accomplished because the dots seamlessly connect all the way around the planet.
In the words of Philippe Cousteau: “The effects of climate change, pollution and over-fishing should be making headlines because the ocean and all of us – and I literally mean all humankind – who depend on its resources are facing the very real prospect of the catastrophic collapse of ocean ecosystems if we continue on our current course.”1
http://dissidentvoice.org/2013/08/what-if-the-ocean-dies/
It's looking grim for the human race. I think collectively, we've opted for the Thelma & Louise ending.
