Quake lifts Solomons island out of the sea

[seriousstan]

Source: yahoo news

RANONGGA, Solomon Islands (AFP) - The seismic jolt that unleashed the deadly Solomons tsunami this week lifted an entire island metres out of the sea, destroying some of the world's most pristine coral reefs.

In an instant, the grinding of the Earth's tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).

Submerged reefs that once attracted scuba divers from around the globe lie exposed and dying after the quake raised the mountainous landmass, which is 32-kilometres (20-miles) long and 8-kilometres (5-miles) wide.

Corals that used to form an underwater wonderland of iridescent blues, greens and reds now bleach under the sun, transforming into a barren moonscape surrounding the island.

The stench of rotting fish and other marine life stranded on the reefs when the seas receded is overwhelming and the once vibrant coral is dry and crunches underfoot.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070407/sc_afp/solomonsquakeisland;_ylt=AmWxTgtJeBcLwaF8np6Dex0DW7oF

[rodeodance]

1. whow----look at that pic on the IP

[babylonsister]

2. There's been a few things on DU about this; here's a thread, but

there's another one with pics about the coral reefs being exposed now.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2789934

[drm604]

3. Wow!

:wow:

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Oh damn. how horrible for all the people who live there. An entire ecosystem destroyed.

[kestrel91316]

5. Those corals only had a few more years anyway...........

But, hey, on the UP SIDE: that island is a whole lot safer from rising oceans due to global warming now. 10 ft is a lot of safety margin.

Seriously, though. This is tragic for the people and their way of life and economy..................

[ohio2007]

6. So will there be a coral reef study done in the area where sunlight was to faint

to allow coral reef to grow ?
It seems coral now reefs have a chance to expand into new areas that wasn't productive enough due to lack of sunlight.
The sea floor moved a few meters closer to the surface is all I'm saying.
Life will exploit this new ground.

[kestrel91316]

7. With the oceans' increasing temperatures, We are due to lose all

the coral on Earth within about 20 years. Increasingly acidic oceans aren't helping wither.

Coral grows very slowly. The stuff that died with the earthquake's uplift isn't going to be replaced. RIP.