Dominican Republic: Saving Coral Reefs From Tourism, Climate Change and Overfishing
18 March
Animals
Dominican Republic: Tourism killing coral reefs | Global Ideas
An estimated 90% of the Dominican Republic's coral reefs have been destroyed, creating a knock-on effect for the entire coastal ecosystem. Local businesses and conservationists are now working to reverse this damage.
<p>Project goal: Making nature more resilient in the face of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate change</a>, tourism and other man-made dangers by protecting and restoring <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/mudflats-mangroves-and-marshes-the-great-coastal-protectors/a-50628747" target="_blank">mangrove forests</a>, seagrass meadows and coral reefs.</p><p>Project scope: Providing expertise, equipment and financing to hire staff for projects in 11 Caribbean countries. Since 2014, non-profit <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> group <a href="https://www.puntacana.org/environment/coral-gardens" target="_blank">Fundacion Grupo Puntacana</a> has revived corals at 60 sites along the Punta Cana coast in the Dominican Republic.</p><p>Project partner: German state-owned development bank KfW, the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, <a href="https://www.international-climate-initiative.com/en/details/project/climate-change-adaptation-in-the-caribbean-the-ebafacility-16_II_156-552?iki_lang=en" target="_blank">the International Climate Initiative (IKI)</a>, Fundacion Grupo Puntacana.</p><p>Project financing: The KfW is providing the Dominican conservation group with €800,000 between 2020 and 2022. The group will invest around €400,000 of its own money. The KfW will have provided €25 million in the 11 project countries by 2025.</p>
<p>Some 6.5 million holidaymakers descend upon the Dominican Republic each year to enjoy its glorious palm-lined beaches and turquoise blue waters.</p><p>But mass tourism, polluted water, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing">overfishing</a> and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coral-reefs-rapidly-die-from-marine-heat-waves-study/a-49960345" target="_blank">climate change</a> have destroyed an estimated 90 percent of the nation's coral reefs, creating a knock-on effect for the entire coastal ecosystem.</p><p>Anglers' nets are now often empty, while the ebb and flow of the tide, rising sea levels and tropical storms carry away more and more of the country's sandy beaches unhindered. In turn that's threatening the very tourism, which is the number one source of income in the country.</p><p>Local non-profit Fundacion Grupo Puntacana is trying to reverse the worst effects.</p><p>Founded by investor group Grupo Puntacana, which runs a number of hotel resorts in the Dominican Republic, the foundation is restoring coral reefs and establishing protected areas in the hopes of securing the coastal landscape — and the livelihoods of coastal inhabitants.</p><p><em>A film by Tim Schauenberg</em></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/dominican-republic-saving-coral-reefs-from-tourism-climate-change-and-overfishing/a-52698061?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>
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Coral reefs around the world are struggling. Signs of stony coral tissue loss disease on symmetrical brain coral (Pseudodiploria strigosa). Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Stony corals provide habitat for an eye-popping one-fourth of the ocean's species. They serve as the centerpiece of a rich and diverse ecosystem, which is why their recent behavior has scientists concerned. New research shows that stony corals around the world are hunkering down into survival mode as they prepare for a mass extinction event, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports.
<p>The international research team was composed of scientists from New York, California, Israel, England and Germany. They noticed a suite of behaviors that correspond to a survival response commensurate with how they behaved during the last mass extinction 66 million years ago, according to the new <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-60605-2" target="_blank">study</a>.</p><p>"When we finally put all this together and saw the result, for me it was that moment when the hair on the back of your neck stands up," said marine biologist David Gruber, from The City University of New York, to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/fossil-corals-mass-extinction-1490202" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>. "It was like, Oh my goodness, [the corals] are doing exactly what they did back then."</p>
<p>The researchers had a rich-history of corals to compare with modern species. Coral skeletons leave an indelible, time-stamped fossil record for scientists to examine the conditions that led to their dying. The scientists were able to compare those fossils with the 839 coral species on the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=100162&searchType=species" target="_blank">red list of threatened species</a> recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/fossil-corals-mass-extinction-1490202" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported.</p><p>The scientists looked at the traits of corals that survived the last major extinction event. They found that the colorful, wavy corals that attract scuba divers did not last. The ones that did survive are the ones that form small colonies and seek out deep water, which are the same ones showing signs of thriving today, as <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/fossil-corals-mass-extinction-1490202" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported.</p>
<p>"It was incredibly spooky to witness how corals are now exhibiting the same traits as they did at the last major extinction event," said Gruber, in a <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-03-reef-building-coral-disaster-traits-akin.html" target="_blank">statement</a> put out by the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center. "Corals seem to be preparing to jump across an extinction boundary, while we are putting our foot further on the pedal."</p><p>Coral reefs around the world are struggling. Recently, a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/mysterious-disease-caribbean-reefs-2639164702.html" target="_self">mysterious virus has wiped out large swaths of Caribbean corals</a>, a marine heatwave is threatening the health of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/great-barrier-reef-bleaching-2645210028.html" target="_self">Australia's Great Barrier Reef</a>, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> threatens to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coral-reefs-climate-crisis-predictions-2645201373.html" target="_self">wipe out most corals by 2100,</a> and corals in the Red Sea are struggling to spawn, according to recent research, as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reef-building-corals-extinction/" target="_blank">Earth.com</a> reported.</p><p>Researchers who monitored coral spawning in the Red Sea for four years found that males and females were acting erratically and missing each other's spawning events, leading to fewer juvenile coral, which paves the way toward extinction, as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reef-building-corals-extinction/" target="_blank">Earth.com</a> reported.</p><p>"Regardless of the exact cause leading to these declines in spawning synchrony, our findings serve as a timely wake-up call to start considering these subtler challenges to coral survival, which are very likely also impacting additional species in other regions," said Tom Shlesinger, one of the lead researchers on the Red Sea study.</p><p>As for the mass extinction that corals seem to be preparing for, Gruber told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/fossil-corals-mass-extinction-1490202" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>, "We can put a person on the moon, we can come up with all these amazing technologies. We can reverse this in due time if we have the motivation. But what the data is showing is that we're not doing that. We're putting our foot further on the pedal, whereas the corals are reacting and changing."</p>
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Coral Reefs Could Be Completely Lost to the Climate Crisis by 2100, New Study Finds
20 February
Climate
A coral and fish community at the Great Barrier Reef, northeast of Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia, on Aug. 28, 2018. Francois Gohier / VWPics / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Researchers released a sobering study this week showing that all of the world's coral reefs may be lost to the climate crisis by 2100.
<p>The bleak outlook means that restoration efforts will face Herculean challenges, according to the research presented by researchers at this week's <a href="https://www.agu.org/Ocean-Sciences-Meeting/" target="_blank">Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020</a> in San Diego, California.</p><p>Rising sea temperatures, acidic water and pollution are proving too much for the reefs to handle. About 70 to 90 percent of the world's existing coral reefs are predicted to disappear in the next two decades, according to scientists from the University of Hawaii Manoa, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/20/world/coral-reefs-2100-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>"By 2100, it's looking quite grim," said Renee Setter, a biogeographer at the University of Hawaii Manoa in a <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/warming-acidic-oceans-may-nearly-eliminate-coral-reef-habitats-by-2100/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>While pollution poses a large threat to many <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> creatures, corals seem most at risk from emissions, according to the researchers.</p>
<p>"Trying to clean up the beaches is great and trying to combat pollution is fantastic. We need to continue those efforts," Setter said in a <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/warming-acidic-oceans-may-nearly-eliminate-coral-reef-habitats-by-2100/" target="_blank">statement</a>. "But at the end of the day, fighting climate change is really what we need to be advocating for in order to protect corals and avoid compounded stressors."</p><p>To make their predictions, the scientists mimicked future ocean conditions like sea surface temperature, wave energy, acidity, pollution and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a> in areas where corals are today. Looking at those models, the scientists found that most parts of the ocean will not sustain habitats for corals by 2045, and almost no suitable habitats will exist by 2100, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-coral-reef-habitat/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>.</p><p>"Honestly, most sites are out," said Setter in the <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/warming-acidic-oceans-may-nearly-eliminate-coral-reef-habitats-by-2100/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>Coral reefs nurture about 25 percent of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a> and support local economies worldwide. As <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-coral-reef-habitat/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> noted, the new research is disheartening for efforts to restore corals by growing them in labs and then putting them back into the ocean. While those efforts have had a 60 percent success rate, the research suggests that lab-grown corals will not stand up to warming oceans and increased acidification.</p><p>Corals are extremely sensitive to ocean temperatures. When the temperature rises just a couple of degrees, corals experience mass <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-bleaching" target="_self">bleaching</a>, where coral turns white as it sheds the algae it relies on not only for survival, but also for its magnificent colors, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-coral-reef-habitat/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported. Bleaching does not kill the coral, but it does weaken them, making them vulnerable to disease.</p>
<p>Scientists are predicting a mass bleaching within the next couple of weeks in Australia's <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/great-barrier-reef" target="_self">Great Barrier Reef</a>. The reef, which is nearly the length of Italy, is undergoing heat stress right now, with patches starting to bleach. While a major widespread bleaching has not occurred yet, scientists have warned that it is likely if high ocean temperatures around the reef do not drop in the next two weeks, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/great-barrier-reef-on-brink-of-third-major-coral-bleaching-in-five-years-scientists-warn" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>Already, temperatures across two-thirds of the reef are about two to three degrees Celsius above normal, with typical peak temperatures still one month away.</p><p>"We are down to the wire," said professor Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/great-barrier-reef-on-brink-of-third-major-coral-bleaching-in-five-years-scientists-warn" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has placed the Great Barrier Reef on Alert Level 1 for the next week, meaning significant bleaching is likely, according to the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/scientists-warn-potential-bleaching-great-barrier-reef/11984626" target="_blank">Australian Broadcasting Company</a>.<br></p><p>"Unfortunately we are a whisker away from bleaching disaster yet again because of global warming-driven marine heatwaves," said Shani Tager from the Australian Marine Conservation Society to the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/scientists-warn-potential-bleaching-great-barrier-reef/11984626" target="_blank">Australian Broadcasting Company</a>.</p><p>"As underwater heatwaves threaten once again to cook our corals, our politicians must move beyond half-baked plans to tackle global warming."</p>
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As restoration managers repair damaged corals, sound recordings can help jumpstart the process of restoring vibrant – and noisy – coral reef ecosystems. CC by 2.0
A healthy coral reef is a noisy place.
<p><br/></p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/14386763/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>"You've got this constant crackling sound. … That's the sound of snapping shrimp," says Steve Simpson of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. "Then on top of that, pops, grunts, growls, trumpeting sounds, whooping sounds … and these are generally made by fish that are communicating with each other."</p><p>But Simpson says after damaging coral bleaching events – which are growing more common as oceans warm – that soundscape changes.</p><p>He says that when his team visited part of the Great Barrier Reef after a major bleaching event, "really to our shock, we found that the reef had gone quiet."</p>
<p>It was a sign that many sea creatures had left the area. Now Simpson's team is using sound to draw some of that life back.</p><p>At 11 locations in the Great Barrier Reef, they played recordings of a healthy reef ecosystem. After six weeks, they compared the fish life in those places with that in other areas. They found that twice as many fish had returned to the audio-enriched sites.</p><p>So Simpson says that as restoration managers repair damaged corals, sound recordings can help jumpstart the process of restoring vibrant – and noisy – coral reef ecosystems.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/06/scientists-use-recorded-sounds-to-lure-fish-back-to-great-barrier-reef/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Branching staghorn coral, acropora, is completely bleached during the 2017 coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef. Picture was taken on Pixie Reef. Brett Monroe Garner / Moment / Getty Images
The Great Barrier Reef, a natural wonder that once teemed with life, just experienced a major coral bleaching event, according to scientists who conducted aerial surveys over hundreds of individual reefs, as The Guardian reported.
<p>According to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/great-barrier-reef-hit-third-major-bleaching-event-five-years-n1166676" target="_blank">NBC News</a>, the entire Great Barrier Reef is suffering a period of unprecedented heat stress. This bleaching event is the third one in five years and questions remain about the corals' ability to recover from the constant onslaught from changing marine conditions. </p>
<p>"This has never happened before," Mark Eakin, coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch program in College Park, Maryland, said as the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/great-barrier-reef-hit-third-major-bleaching-event-five-years-n1166676" target="_blank">NBC News reported</a>. "We're in completely uncharted territory."</p>
<p>Bleachings don't necessarily kill the corals, but it does leave them extremely vulnerable to disease from bacteria or viruses. Bleaching, which occurs in response to abnormal conditions like heat or increased acidity in the water, forces the corals to release the tiny photosynthetic algae that live in their tissue and are responsible for their color, according to NBC News.</p>
<p>The previous two heat stress related bleaching events were in 2016 and 2017. Scientists say the frequency of the heat-induced bleaching is a direct result of the climate crisis, which spells trouble for the vitality of the reef since the corals do not have enough time to recover and to grow back, according to NBC News. </p>
<p>The scientists conducting the aerial surveys are from the <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/for-managers/coral-bleaching-and-the-great-barrier-reef" target="_blank">ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University</a> in Queensland, Australia. </p>
<p>Terry Hughes, who runs the center, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/25/great-barrier-reef-suffers-third-mass-coral-bleaching-event-in-five-years" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, that after three days of the planned nine-day survey, "We know this is a mass bleaching event and it's a severe one. We know enough now that [the bleaching] is more severe than in 1998 and 2002. How it sits with 2016 and 2017 we are not sure yet."</p>
<p>Global warming is an enormous threat to the future of coral reefs around the world. As The Guardian reported, The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded from published evidence that a majority of tropical coral reefs would disappear even if heating was limited to the Paris agreement's target of 1.5 degrees Celsius and would be "at very high risk" at 1.2 degrees Celsius.</p>
<p>Hughes told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/great-barrier-reef-hit-third-major-bleaching-event-five-years-n1166676" target="_blank">NBC News</a> there have been only five recorded Great Barrier Reef bleaching events. The first was in 1998, followed by 2002, then in 2016, 2017 and this year, setting up a disturbing pattern. </p>
<p>"The gap between one event and the next is shrinking, not just for the Great Barrier Reef, but forreefs throughout the tropics," Hughes said to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/great-barrier-reef-hit-third-major-bleaching-event-five-years-n1166676" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. "That's important, because it takes a decade or so for a half-decent recovery of even the fastest-growing corals. The slowest ones take several decades."</p>
<p>While past bleaching events, like the ones in 2002 and 2016, were driven by El Niño weather events, this one happened just because the Australian summer was too hot. </p>
<p>"We no longer need an El Niño to trigger a bleaching event — we just need a hot summer," Eakin said to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/great-barrier-reef-hit-third-major-bleaching-event-five-years-n1166676" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. "And the summers are getting hotter and hotter because of global warming. That is astounding in itself."</p>
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Ambassadors with the #SuperCoralPlay campaign. Nicolette Amico / Newlink
Only the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will get to play in Super Bowl 54 in Miami Sunday. But anyone can make a #SuperCoralPlay.
<p>That's the name of a joint campaign from MSC Cruises, the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee (MSBHC),and 54 NFL players and influencers to raise awareness about the need to protect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-reefs" target="_self">coral reefs</a>. It invites individuals and businesses to make a <a href="https://supercoralplay.org/pages/take-the-challenge-now" target="_blank">#SuperCoralPlay</a> by pledging to take action to help save coral and the wider environment and then posting on social media to spread the word. The campaign launched with a music video Jan. 16 featuring Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry and broadcaster and retired NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8bbbda9d5d16a6af790c22c857a8e0c4"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O0WEWF2XbBY?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>"I'm a diver and I love the ocean – it's certainly a passion point for me," Sanchez said of his decision to get involved.</p><p>He highlighted the fact that coral reefs are in serious trouble — the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-ipcc-report-2610866229.html" target="_self">estimates</a> that 70 to 90 percent of them could be wiped out in the next two decades because of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>That's why the <a href="https://mscfoundation.org/" target="_blank">MSC Foundation</a> is working in its <a href="http://www.oceancaymsc.com/" target="_blank">Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve</a> in the Bahamas to identify and rebuild the reefs using "Super Coral" — hardy species of corals that have survived extreme ocean heat waves.</p><p>"We were just at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve a couple weeks ago and it's impressive to see the work MSC Foundation is doing by researching Super Coral – something that can have a global impact. But it's everyone's responsibility to take care of the world's reefs and that's why we wanted to get involved in Super Coral Play," Sanchez said.</p><p>If you're wondering exactly how to participate, Landry has the answers.</p>
<p>"We all have to do our part by making a play to reduce our carbon footprint. It's easy. You can switch to LED lightbulbs, refuse single use plastic or ride a bike instead of a car. Once you choose your play, post about it on social media using #SuperCoralPlay and challenge two friends to join the movement," he said.</p><p>You can also purchase a <a href="https://supercoralplay.org/products/super-coral-play-bracelet" target="_blank">Super Coral Play bracelet</a> made from abandoned fishing nets. For every bracelet sold, the MSC Foundation will propagate a new Super Coral.</p><p>So why is all this environmental activity centering around the Super Bowl?</p><p>"Every year the Super Bowl has a philanthropic focus, and this year it is the environment," Matthew McKinnon, Chair of the Advisory Board of the MSC Foundation, explained. "We were excited to team up with Miami Super Bowl Host Committee (MSBHC) and these 54 NFL players and influencers to help amplify our message about the importance of coral and raise awareness of the need to protect them."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY0MjI4NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODg1NTE0Nn0.t9JNGfLoztGosFcNEIIIOPSPqRQixcDqhK8GpI-y2FY/img.jpg?width=980" id="e5bfe" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="45c44aa4b0a26b15faf2b563907f25cf" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Ocean Cay in the Bahamas, where the MSC Foundation is working to find and promote 'Super Coral.' Conrad Schutt
<p>Participating in #SuperCoralPlay isn't the only way the Super Bowl is going green. For three years now, the game has worked to make sure stadium trash doesn't end up in a landfill, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/01/super-bowl-54-zero-waste-miami/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Science_20200129&rid=48CC0311F587B019F9A7DFAEDA55B8D6" target="_blank">National Geographic explained</a>.</p><p>In 2018, 90 percent of the waste generated at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis was composted or recycled. This year, the stadium is aiming to phase out 99.4 percent of its single-use <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastic" target="_self">plastic</a>. To that end, it is using aluminum containers for beer and water and compostable material like bamboo for cutlery.</p><p>Environmental groups say the big game is an excellent chance to raise awareness about sustainability.</p><p>"There really is no bigger stage than the Super Bowl to bring folks around the conversation," George Leonard, the chief scientist at the <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/" target="_blank">Ocean Conservancy</a>, told National Geographic.</p>
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A new report spotlights a U.N. estimate that at least 275 million people rely on healthy coral reefs. A sea turtle near the Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef is seen above. THE OCEAN AGENCY / XL CATLIN SEAVIEW SURVEY
In a new report about how the world's coral reefs face "the combined threats of climate change, pollution, and overfishing" — endangering the future of marine biodiversity — a London-based nonprofit calls for greater global efforts to end the climate crisis and ensure the survival of these vital underwater ecosystems.
<p>The report, entitled <a href="https://ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/EJF-Report-Coral-Reefs.pdf" target="_blank"><em>Marine Havens Under Threat: The impacts of the climate crisis on tropical coral reefs and the communities that rely on them</em></a>, was published Wednesday by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).</p>
<p>EJF warns that because of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/13/humanitys-destruction-oceans-nearly-doubled-over-decade-scientists-warn-and-could" target="_blank">human activities</a> that heat and pollute the planet, coral reefs "are under imminent risk of destruction," pointing to a recent estimate from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that global warming of 2°C could kill 99 percent of all corals.</p>
<div id="c5894" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="X2PHE71579807416"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220032163036434432" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#coralreefs are incredibly biodiverse, but they also provide a huge range of benefits, from medicines to protection… https://t.co/E2Z19ZKeEh</div> — Environmental Justice Foundation (@Environmental Justice Foundation)<a href="https://twitter.com/ejfoundation/statuses/1220032163036434432">1579713309.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The ocean, which <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceanwater.html" target="_blank">covers</a> more than 70 percent of the planet, "has taken up between 20–30% of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions since the 1980s causing further ocean acidification," <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/25/un-climate-report-oceans-frozen-regions-warns-unprecedented-transitions-all-aspects" target="_blank">according to</a> an IPCC special report from last year. The lead author of a study published last week <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/14/adding-five-six-hiroshima-bombs-heat-each-second-study-shows-oceans-warming-record" target="_blank">said</a> that "the amount of heat we have put in the world's oceans in the past 25 years equals to 3.6 billion Hiroshima atom-bomb explosions."</p><p>Some scientists refer to three key climate-related pressures on the marine environment — warming, acidification, and oxygen loss — as the "<a href="https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/ocean-acidification" target="_blank">deadly trio</a>." Experts also warn that human-caused global heating leads to sea level rise and certain <a href="https://www.climatecommunication.org/climate/global-warming/" target="_blank">extreme weather events</a> becoming more frequent and intense.</p><p>"As the global temperature rises, reefs will be put at risk from warming oceans, higher frequency cyclones, increased precipitation, sea level rise, rising acidification, and changing ocean circulation," the EJF report says. "These factors alter the delicate balance of conditions necessary for tropical coral reefs to function, causing bleaching and destruction of reefs. In many cases, this damage is irreversible."</p>
<div id="ed3f4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="IT1H081579807416"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220003197558906881" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth rely on coral reefs. Find out about their vital role in a new… https://t.co/OcF99JBEJU</div> — Environmental Justice Foundation (@Environmental Justice Foundation)<a href="https://twitter.com/ejfoundation/statuses/1220003197558906881">1579706403.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Marine heatwaves, which experts <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/16/scale-failure-has-no-precedent-scientists-say-hot-ocean-blob-killed-one-million" target="_blank">warn</a> will become more common as humans continue to heat the planet, have led to major coral bleaching events around the world in recent years. A study from 2018 <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/04/19/beyond-comprehension-just-two-years-half-all-corals-forever-damaged-great-barrier" target="_blank">concluded</a> that the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, the world's largest coral system, was "forever damaged" following back-to-back bleaching events that collectively killed half of the corals.</p><p>Bleaching refers to when stressors such as warm water and pollution lead coral to expel algae, its main food source, and turn white. Bleached coral faces a greater risk of disease and death but can recover if surrounding conditions improve. Last year, a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/09/example-unknown-unknowns-study-detailing-almost-instant-mortality-corals-suggests" target="_blank">study</a> about severe marine heatwaves heightened alarm about the future; researchers found cases where "the water temperatures are so warm that the coral animal doesn't bleach—in terms of a loss of its symbiosis—the animal dies and its underlying skeleton is all that remains."</p><p>EJF, in its new report and an accompanying video, highlighted the consequences of coral bleaching and death events for both marine wildlife and humans.</p>
Coral Reefs in Crisis
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/386250260" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fcffbfeac80dddb74a304966b7f5995a"></iframe><p>"Tropical coral reefs support an estimated quarter of all marine species: hundreds of thousands of animal and plant species, who rely on the reef for food, shelter, and a safe place to live and reproduce," the report says. "These complex ecosystems include hard and soft corals, sponges, crustaceans, molluscs, fish, sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, and much more—including 'foundation' and 'keystone' species such as corals and sea turtles."</p><p>The report also spotlights a U.N. estimate that at least 275 million people rely on healthy coral reefs as an "essential source of food, employment, income, and storm protection for coastal communities."</p><p>In terms of the economic value of coral reefs, EJF puts tourism and recreation at $9.6 billion, coastal protection at $9 billion, fisheries at $5.7 billion, and wildlife at $5.5 billion. Directly below the economic figures, the report features "a note of caution: Valuing biodiversity in this way is of course subjective, how do we put a value on a species' intrinsic right to exist?"</p><div id="96a58" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="OUGNN41579807416"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1219881136559722497" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Coralreefs are more than just beautiful. They are a source of income, protein, recreation and safety from storms f… https://t.co/TmKaBvTQy3</div> — Environmental Justice Foundation (@Environmental Justice Foundation)<a href="https://twitter.com/ejfoundation/statuses/1219881136559722497">1579677301.0</a></blockquote></div><p>To combat the triple threat that coral reefs are facing, EJF puts forth recommendations to end the climate crisis: implement the Paris agreement and fully transition all industrial economies to zero carbon by 2030, create a European Union inter-agency taskforce "to drive a more effective, integrated" global response, and establish a U.N. special rapporteur on human rights, economic well-being, and climate change.</p><p>EJF presents another set of specific recommendations to ensure that remaining corals "survive the climate change that is irreversible," calling for an end to illegal and unsustainable fishing as well as pollution that harms coral, including agricultural runoff, sewage, and plastic. The group also calls for expanding marine protected areas to cover at least 30% of the ocean, and assuring that such zones have "clear restrictions and effective conservation aims."</p><p>"In all deliberations and future negotiations," the report adds, "all stakeholders must be included, with special reference to local communities."</p><p>Acknowledging that coral reefs "are not only a vital source of food and income for millions of people" but also "home to a vast diversity of irreplaceable wildlife," EJF executive director Steve Trent <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/01/22/corals-and-communities-ejf-report-highlights-devastating-impacts-climate-crisis" target="_blank">warned</a> Wednesday that "failure to act now to protect them will cause environmental ruin and with it a human tragedy."</p>
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Aerial view of Cancun coastline. Dronepicr / Wikipedia / CC BY 3.0
Buying insurance is one way to protect something of value, such as a car or a home. And now businesses in Cancun, Mexico, have insured a coral reef.
<p>"The coral reef actually reduces the risk of storm impact on the hotels and resorts in Cancun," Dave Jones said. He's with the Nature Conservancy and is the former insurance commissioner of California.</p>
<p>He said a healthy coral reef can reduce 97 percent of a wave's energy as it barrels toward land.</p><p>"So having a healthy coral reef makes a big difference in terms of whether the hurricane or storm is going to destroy your community or not," he said.</p><p>But a reef can also be damaged by a strong storm, which puts communities at greater risk in the future.</p><p>So in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, coastal property owners pay a fee that helps fund an insurance policy for the nearby reef and beaches.</p><p>"If a storm of a certain magnitude hits, the policy pays out," Jones said.</p><p>The money will be used by local residents trained to remove debris that could cause further damage, reattach coral pieces and set up nurseries where corals can regrow.</p><p>Jones says it's a way to pay for the restoration of an ecosystem that can, in turn, protect people from the intensifying effects of global warming.</p><p>Listen below:</p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/12468251/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/01/cancun-businesses-take-out-insurance-policy-on-a-coral-reef/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>. </em></p>
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Humpback whale splashing in the North West Atlantic Ocean, Massachusetts. Tim Graham / Getty Images
By Jake Johnson
In a move that environmentalists warned could further imperil hundreds of endangered species and a protected habitat for the sake of profit, President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation rolling back an Obama-era order and opening nearly 5,000 square miles off the coast of New England to commercial fishing.
<p>"We're opening it today," Trump said during a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-roundtable-supporting-americas-commercial-fishermen/" target="_blank">roundtable talk</a> in Maine with commercial fishermen and the state's former governor Paul LePage. "What reason did he have for closing 5,000 miles? That's a lot of miles. Five thousand square miles is a lot. He didn't have a reason, in my opinion."</p>
<p>The reason behind the establishment of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in 2016, conservation groups hastened to point out, was to shield endangered species and their ecosystem from harmful intrusion and permanent damage by commercial interests.</p><p>Fishing industry interests challenged former President Barack Obama's designation of the marine monument but were <a href="https://www.wbur.org/earthwhile/2019/12/27/northeast-canyons-seamounts-monument-fishery" target="_blank">rebuffed</a> in federal court last year.</p>
<p>"Opening up the nation's only marine national monument in the Atlantic will help no one but a handful of fishers while risking irreparable damage to the marine wildlife that have no other fully protected areas off our eastern seaboard," <a href="https://defenders.org/newsroom/president-trump-opens-only-marine-national-monument-atlantic-commercial-fishing" target="_blank">said</a> Bob Dreher, senior vice president of Conservation Programs at Defenders of Wildlife. "Ancient and slow-growing deep sea corals, endangered large whales and sea turtles, and an incredible array of fish, seabirds, sharks, dolphins, and other wildlife—these are the species and habitats that will pay the price."</p><p>During the roundtable discussion Friday, Trump said "I love that" when Interior Secretary David Bernhardt—a former <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/02/oil-mining-lobbyist-david-bernhardt-nomed-to-be-secretary-of-interior/" target="_blank">oil and mining lobbyist</a>—informed the president that his proclamation is effectively "taking down a 'no fishing' sign" in the Atlantic Ocean.</p><p>"The minute you sign it, we will begin planning," Bernhardt said.</p>
<p>Trump's order Friday is just the latest move the president has taken to gut environmental protections under the cover of the Covid-19 pandemic and a nationwide uprising over police brutality. On Thursday, as <em>Common Dreams</em> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/04/groups-denounce-gutting-environmental-rules-when-trump-thinks-no-one-paying" target="_blank">reported</a>, Trump signed an executive order allowing federal agencies to waive environmental rules to speed approval of energy projects like oil pipelines.</p>
<div id="47f4e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1431750a6a1c5950b96b7a78a46362f1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1269079062447828992" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump just opened up a marine sanctuary to commercial fishing, undermining protections for endangered whales, sea t… https://t.co/H3gTJU3oEQ</div> — Friends of the Earth (@Friends of the Earth)<a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/statuses/1269079062447828992">1591407001.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Brad Sewell, senior director of oceans for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a statement that commercial fishing "poses a range of threats, such as harm to deep-sea corals from heavy fishing gear, and entanglement of bycatch and marine mammals."</p><p>Sewell said NRDC is prepared to take legal action against the Trump administration to "protect these marine treasures from harm and exploitation by commercial fishing and other extractive industries." </p><p>"These fragile, extraordinary ocean areas are full of thousand-year-old corals, endangered whales, and other precious marine life," said Sewell. "They belong to all Americans, and they are held in trust for future generations."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/06/quietly-putting-hundreds-species-risk-trump-opens-5000-square-miles-atlantic-ocean" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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The icebreaker Polar Star in Antarctica. Ville Miettinen / The Revelator / CC BY-NC 2.0
By Tara Lohan
Part of Joellen Russell's job is to help illuminate the deep darkness — to shine a light on what's happening beneath the surface of the ocean. And it's one of the most important jobs in the world right now.
<p><a href="https://www.geo.arizona.edu/Russell" target="_blank">Russell</a> is a professor of biogeochemical dynamics at the University of Arizona. From that dry, landlocked state, she's become a leading expert on how the climate is changing in the Southern Ocean — those vast, dark waters swirling around <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Antarctica">Antarctica</a>.<em></em></p>
<p>"This is an age of scientific discovery," she says. But also, "it's very scary what we're finding out."</p><p>Researchers like Russell have been ringing alarm bells in report after report warning that the world's ocean waters are dangerously warming. Most of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gas emissions we've spewed into the air for decades has actually been absorbed by the ocean. Over the past 25 years, that heat amounts to the equivalent of exploding <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/ioap-row010920.php" target="_blank">3.6 billion Hiroshima-sized atom bombs</a>, according to Lijing Cheng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and lead author of a new study on ocean warming.</p><p>Now we're beginning to witness the cascading repercussions of that oceanic warming — from supercharged storms to <a href="https://therevelator.org/?s=coral" target="_blank">dying coral reefs</a> to crashing fisheries.</p><p>There's still a lot left to learn about these problems, but here's a look at some of the top findings from researchers, along with what they hope to uncover next.</p>
1. Yes, It’s Definitely Getting Warmer
<p>There's no doubt among scientists that the ocean is heating and we're driving it.</p><p>The latest confirmation is the <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00376-020-9283-7.pdf" target="_blank">study by Cheng and colleagues, published this month</a> in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, which bluntly stated, "Ocean heating is irrefutable and a key measure of the Earth's energy imbalance."</p><p>The study found ocean waters in 2019 were the warmest in recorded history. And that follows a pattern: The past decade has also seen the warmest 10 years of ocean temperatures, and the last five years have been the five warmest on record.</p><p>"Every year the ocean waters get warmer, and the reason is because of the heat-trapping gases that humans have emitted into the atmosphere," says <a href="https://www.stthomas.edu/engineering/faculty/john-p-abraham.html" target="_blank">John Abraham</a>, one of the study's coauthors and a professor in mechanical engineering at the University of St. Thomas. "It's concerning for sure."</p>2. The Southern Ocean Has Been Hit Worst
<p>Much of this warming occurs between the surface and a depth of 6,500 feet. It's happening pretty consistently across the globe, but some areas have experienced higher rates of warming. One of those is the Southern Ocean, which has acted as a giant sink, absorbing 43 percent of our oceanic CO2 emissions and 75 percent of the heat, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-019-0516-2" target="_blank">scientists have concluded</a>.</p><p>That's because the ocean basin functions like an air conditioner for the planet, says Russell. Strong winds pull up cold water from deep below, and then the cold surface water takes up some heat from the air. When the winds slow, the water sinks, more cold water rises, and the process repeats.</p><p>"The sinking water isn't warm, per se, just a bit warmer than it was when the wind pulled it up," she says. "In this way the Southern Ocean can sequester a lot of heat well below the surface."</p><p>For that reason what happens in the Southern Ocean is globally important. And it makes new findings all the more concerning.</p><p>Normal upwelling of waters from deep in the Southern Ocean has traditionally brought nutrients to the surface, where they then get moved by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the world's strongest ocean current, to feed <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a> in other areas. But <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-019-0502-8" target="_blank">new research</a> from Russell and colleagues found that this process will be disrupted as warm waters cause the Southern Ocean's ice sheets to melt even faster. This will change the historical upwelling and could trap nutrients instead of pushing them out.</p><p>That, she says, will "begin to starve the global ocean of nutrients."</p>3. A Lot of Changes Are Happening
<p>As bad as that sounds…there's a lot more.</p><p>One of the most obvious results of ocean warming is higher sea levels. That's caused in part because water expands as it warms.</p><p>But there's also the effect on sea ice. The warmer the water gets, the more ice melts — as is happening in Antarctica. Not surprisingly <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2680/new-study-finds-sea-level-rise-accelerating/" target="_blank">rates of global sea-level rise are accelerating</a>. This means more property damage, storm surges, and waves lapping at the heels of our coastal communities.</p><p>Warmer waters also mean more supercharged storms. An increase in heat drives up evaporation and adds extra moisture to the atmosphere, causing heavy rains, more flooding and more extreme weather events.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjYzNjk2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjkzMjM5OH0.bhKjRgMbhxksaqF3cbAaR47hB1qOwEhfu57i-5Zq4vM/img.jpg?width=980" id="cfea2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="03961faaf4043365957badd47c4abfd2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />The aftermath of Cyclone Idai, one of the deadliest storms in history, in Mozambique, March 2019. Denis Onyodi / IFRC / DRK / Climate Centre / CC BY-NC 2.0
<p>it can make drier conditions worse, too. When air rises and cools below the dew point, it turns into clouds or precipitation. "But in places like Arizona or Australia, where rain is generally formed when air is pushed upward over mountains, "the warmer atmosphere might not be cold enough to cause rain," explains Russell. "This is how a warmer atmosphere carrying more moisture might actually rain less in some places — contributing to drought and therefore fire."</p><p>The recent study in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences identified warming waters as "one of the key reasons why the Earth has experienced increasing catastrophic fires in the Amazon, California, and Australia in 2019 (extending into 2020 for Australia)."</p><p>And that's not all.</p><p>Warming ocean waters also contribute to the rise of colonies of algae that can produce toxins deadly to wildlife and sometimes people.</p><p>These harmful algal blooms pose a problem even way up in the Gulf of Alaska, where the annual algae season has gotten longer, says Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the <a href="https://uaf-accap.org/" target="_blank">Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy</a> at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.</p><p>"That's all, of course, due to warmer water," he says.</p><p>The biggest change in the region may be along the coast of the Bering Sea, where water temperatures have historically been too cold for the blooms to occur — but that's starting to change.</p><p>"Now the water temperatures are getting up to the point where they're warm enough to support these harmful algal blooms," Thoman says. Toxins from the blooms can work their way up the food chain and have even shown up in some marine mammals in the areas. "People are concerned about whether it's safe to eat their staple foods," he says.</p>
4. Marine Heat Waves Are Getting Worse
<p>While temperatures are rising across the world's oceans, some areas are also seeing dangerous short-term spikes known as <a href="http://www.marineheatwaves.org/all-about-mhws.html" target="_blank">marine heatwaves</a>.</p><p>Scientists anticipate that these heatwaves, which can be fatal to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/world/climate-environment/climate-change-tasmania/" target="_blank">long list of sea creatures</a>, will continue to get more severe and more frequent as the ocean warms. By the end of the century, conditions in some areas may be akin to a permanent heatwave.</p><p>That's likely to be bad news for everything from seaweed to birds to mammals, and it could result in fundamental changes for food webs and the animals and coastal economies that depend on those resources.</p><p>"Collectively, and over time, an increase in the exposure of marine ecosystems to extreme temperatures may lead to irreversible loss of species or foundation habitats, such as seagrass, coral reefs and kelp forests," a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00734/full?utm_source=ad&utm_medium=tw&utm_campaign=ba_sci_fmars" target="_blank">December 2019 study</a> in<em> Frontiers in Marine Science</em> found.</p><p>And these changes likely aren't far off. These marine heatwaves "will emerge as forceful agents of disturbance to marine ecosystems in the near-future," the researchers wrote.</p><p>We're already seeing what that would look like.</p><p>Marine heatwaves off Australia have spurred oyster die-offs and losses to the abalone fishery, and one event in 2016 caught the world's attention when it caused <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04660-w" target="_blank">severe bleaching of the biodiverse Great Barrier Reef</a>, triggering mass coral deaths.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjYzNjk2Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODU4NTI3OH0.nn6BGq9q8yOZAxYZKGnYtrmWETVdBEoeOZ_thH1pEm0/img.jpg?width=980" id="62e5a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4df8b69188d6484a2932664481c2b6f5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />An aerial view of widespread coral bleaching in the northern Great Barrier Reef, 2016. Terry Hughes / ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies / CC BY-ND 2.0
<p>And scientists now believe that "the blob," a mass of warm water that persisted off the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska from 2014 to 2016, led to the starvation of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226087#sec012" target="_blank">an estimated 1 million common murres</a> (<em>Uria aalge</em>) — a normally resilient seabird. The warm waters likely reduced and changed phytoplankton communities — an essential part of the marine food web. But that's not all. The warm waters increased the metabolism — and the appetite — of big fish like pollock and salmon. That demand spike crashed populations of forage fish that murres usually find plentiful.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/05/hundreds-puffins-washed-dead-alaskan-beach/590356/" target="_blank">Tufted puffins</a>, <a href="https://www.washington.edu/news/2018/06/05/ocean-warming-junk-food-prey-cause-of-massive-seabird-die-off-study-finds/" target="_blank">Cassin's auklets</a>, sea lions and baleen whales also suffered losses, although the murres were hit worst.</p><p>Most recently a prolonged marine heatwave off the coast of Alaska led to the closure of region's commercial Pacific cod fishery for 2020 — the first time that's ever happened.</p><p>"When you cancel whole fisheries, that really impacts people's lives and livelihoods," says Thoman.</p>
5. What We Don’t Know
<p>Scientists have enough information now to tell us that we need to quickly change course. But there's still a lot to learn about how warming temperatures will affect myriad species in the sea, not to mention weather patterns and coastal economies.</p><p>One current line of research is to better understand how ocean warming affects weather.</p><p>"We know that a warmer ocean means more water evaporates into the atmosphere," says Abraham. "Consequently, it makes the weather more severe because humidity drives storms. We would like to quantify this. So how much worse is weather now and how bad will it be?"</p><p>Some of that information will come from existing systems.</p><p>"We live in a time of great change, and the ocean is telling us these stories mostly through our incredible <a href="http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/About_Argo.html" target="_blank">Argo floats</a>," says Russell. This global network of nearly 3,900 floating sensors can measure temperature, salinity and pressure at varying depths across the world's oceans.</p><p>But in the Southern Ocean, Russell works with an even more advanced group of biogeochemical sensors. They measure nitrates, which can tell researchers about the building blocks of nutrients for the food web. They also measure oxygen, "how the ocean is breathing," she says, and pH, which helps tell the carbon content of the water.</p><p>Russell says she'd like to see this technology put to use in more waters around the world.</p><p>"We're trying to get a global biogeochemical Argo array, but so far haven't gotten funding for it," she says. "I'm desperate to see the rest of the ocean because it's all connected and it's mixing quickly."</p><p>The Arctic, she says, is one place where this technology would play a particularly valuable role.</p><p>"It's so shallow in many places, and under ice for so much of the year, that we haven't really been able to get a big float array up there," she says. "But the Arctic is critical to our national interest and it's relatively unstudied. Can you imagine that, in this day and age?"</p><p>There's plenty to keep researchers busy, but the rest of us also need to act quickly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because, the researchers of the Advances in Atmospheric Sciences study concluded, the oceans are so vast that they'll require years to dissipate all of this excess heat and register the changes we're starting to make today. Cutting emissions, they wrote, is the only way to reduce "the risks to humans and other life on Earth."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/ocean-climate-change/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A Japanese ship that ran aground on a coral reef off Mauritius may have changed course to get a mobile data signal for a birthday celebration on board. imo.un / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
A Japanese ship that wrecked off the coast of Mauritius in July and sparked one of the worst environmental disasters in the country's history may have run aground because of birthday celebrations on board at the time.
<p>That's according to a statement from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), in the latest development from the July 25 wrecking of the Panama-flagged and Japanese-owned M.V. Wakashio, a bulk carrier. The ship, bound for Brazil from Singapore, was sailing through Mauritian waters when it ran aground on a coral reef and <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/mauritius-grapples-with-worst-environmental-crisis-in-a-generation/" target="_blank">leaked almost 1,000 tons</a> of fuel oil.</p><p>In its <a href="https://amp.gob.pa/notas-de-prensa/delegacion-panamena-de-expertos-en-accidentes-maritimos-asiste-en-investigaciones-sobre-el-accidente-de-la-embarcacion-wakashio-en-isla-mauricio/" target="_blank">statement</a> published in Spanish on Sept. 7, the AMP, which is collaborating in the investigation into the accident, said the ship diverted its navigation plan, possibly in relation to "the celebration of the birthday of one of the crew members."</p>
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<p>"[T]he change of course is produced by indications of the captain of the boat, who gave instructions to approach about 5 miles away from the coast of Mauritius, looking for a telephone and internet signal, so that the crew members could communicate with their families," the AMP said.</p><p>The Wakashio's captain was taken into custody on Aug. 18 for endangering safe navigation. According to the government, the ship had failed to respond to several calls from the Mauritian Coast Guard.</p><p>Mauritius's environment minister, Kavydass Ramano, called it an "unprecedented" crisis, and the prime minister declared a national emergency on Aug. 7, a day after oil began leaking from its tank.</p><p>The AMP said its investigation into the cause of the grounding was still in the preliminary phase. It also raised questions about the use of the electronic navigational chart (ENC). "It seems that the wrong chart was being used and with the wrong scale, which made it impossible to properly verify the approach to the coast and shallower waters," the AMP said.</p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">Satellite data analysis reported by Forbes shows the ship </span><u style="background-color: initial;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishandegnarain/2020/08/09/how-satellites-traced-the-fateful-journey-of-the-ship-that-led-to--mauritius-worst-oil-spill-disaster/#8c542495b428" target="_blank">changed course</a></u><span style="background-color: initial;"> on July 21, putting it on a direct collision path with the island. The outlet also reported that weather conditions in the days leading up to the crash were not adverse, discounting bad weather as a possible explanation for the move.</span><br></p><p>Some observers say the missteps could be linked to the stress that ship crews are under in the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 shutdowns. It has become challenging for shipping operators to make crew changes, leading many seafarers to be stranded at sea, away from their families for long periods.</p><p>The Wakashio ran aground on the reef close to at least three ecologically important sites: a Ramsar wetland, a coral island hosting rare and endemic birds, and a marine protected area. Environmentalists say they fear the spill will have lasting effects on the coral reefs, mangroves and fisheries in the region.</p><p>Last week, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), the Japanese company operating the ship, pledged 1 billion yen ($9.5 million) for environmental preservation efforts and to shore up local fisheries.</p><p>Nagashiki Shipping, the owner of the Wakashio, will also be contributing to this initiative, called the Mauritius Natural Environment Recovery Fund. The money will go toward mangrove recovery, coral reef protection and safeguarding Mauritius's rare flora and fauna, and for research work.</p>
<p>The Japanese government has also offered aid, but the value of its commitment is undecided. Japanese media have reported that Mauritius is seeking 1.34 billion Mauritian rupees ($34 million) from Tokyo.</p><p>Mauritius is also seeking compensation from Nagashiki Shipping. It has started the process of collecting claims from residents impacted by the crash and the spill.</p><p>Mauritian authorities have come under increasing scrutiny at home for letting the ship remain on the reef for more than 10 days, even as choppy waters damaged the vessel and ultimately led to a breach in the fuel tank. The ship broke into two on Aug. 15.</p>
<p>A controversial <u><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/mauritiuss-plan-to-dump-part-of-wrecked-ship-sparks-controversy/" target="_blank">decision</a></u> to sink the front half of the ship on Aug. 25, and the beaching of dozens of dolphins and whales days just days later, fueled further discontent. The causes of the deaths of the cetaceans are yet to be determined.</p><p>On Aug. 29, <u><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/mauritians-take-to-the-street-over-oil-spill-and-dolphin-and-whale-deaths/" target="_blank">thousands of people</a></u> marched in the streets of the capital, Port Louis, to protest what they see as the government's mishandling of the crisis. Another protest was held in Mahebourg, an important fishing village, on Sept. 12.</p><p>Meanwhile, the stern of the broken vessel remains lodged on the reef. Efforts are underway to remove it before the Indian Ocean storm season starts in November.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/birthday-party-on-ship-may-have-led-to-oil-spill-in-mauritius-panama-regulator-says/#:~:text=A%20Japanese%20ship%20that%20ran,flag%20the%20vessel%20was%20sailing." target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Coral restoration in Guam. U.S. Pacific Fleet / CC BY-NC 2.0
By Erica Cirino
Visit a coral reef off the coast of Miami or the Maldives and you may see fields of bleached white instead of a burst of colors.
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-reefs">Coral reefs</a> are in a death spiral. Many of the world's major reefs — which give the oceans life, support fisheries, prevent storm damage, provide medicine and create ocean-based tourism opportunities — are <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1676" target="_blank">expected to disappear</a> by 2100. Experts say coral decline has numerous causes, including chemical runoff, plastic pollution, disease and overfishing.</p><p>But the main culprit is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a>, a crisis with no quick fixes.</p><p>As the late Ruth Gates — one of the world's foremost coral experts and former director of the Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology — told me two years ago, shortly before her death: "A significant cut in greenhouse gas emissions is required to save corals … not to mention, us. Such an endeavor will require government and public cooperation, and it will take time."</p><p>Coral reefs don't <em>have</em> much time, so experts around the world have used whatever tactics were in their reach to try to give corals a fighting chance. Much of their focus has been on top-down, policy-driven approaches like creating <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12638" target="_blank">marine protected areas</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50963080" target="_blank">banning toxic sunscreens</a>, and <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/12/murky-underwater-world-of-the-aquarium-trade/" target="_blank">cracking down</a> on the illegal capture of reef fish.</p><p>But a growing number of experts, building on efforts by Gates and others, have taken a more bottom-up approach: coral reef restoration, or the process of repopulating deteriorating reefs with healthy coral. And they're tapping citizen scientists to help with the effort — people participating in scientific projects organized by experts.</p><p>There's evidence that this type of restoration could solidly support the full range of reef-conservation efforts underway. But given the extent of the crisis and what's at stake, is repeatedly putting new crops of corals into harm's way the answer?</p>
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/coral-reef-replanting/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>. </em><em></em></p>
Climate Change Threats
<p>Though reefs cover less than 1 percent of Earth's surface, they support more than a million different species, including many types of algae — like sea grasses and sea lettuces — and a broad range of animals from starfish to shrimp to sharks, as well as people. Experts estimate that corals pull <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral07_importance.html" target="_blank">$375 billion</a> into the global economy every year, mainly by fostering tourism, supporting fisheries, and contributing to medicine and storm protection.</p><p>Despite their value corals have been in decline for decades. Scientists responded by initiating the first reef-restoration efforts about 50 years ago. Since then restoration efforts have been tailored to meet the needs of corals prioritized at specific times and places. In the 1970s, as coastal development boomed, scientists focused on expanding corals' habitat by strategically placing shipwrecks, concrete pipes, tires and other manmade structures underwater on which corals could grow. By the early 2000s, scientists had become more interested in addressing other localized risks to reefs — such as overfishing, irresponsible tourism and invasive species.</p><p>But climate change poses an even more far-reaching threat.</p><p>Bleaching — a precursor to coral death caused by stressors including warming waters — has left nary a reef unscathed around the world. Most corals thrive in temperatures between 73-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Oceans naturally undergo seasonal warming, which leads to temperature fluctuations high enough to bleach some corals. In the past corals could recover from bleaching events once waters cooled. Scientists say it takes 15 to 25 years for a reef to recover from serious bleaching and become healthy enough to support a rich host of marine life. But today, with the relentless and extreme warming our oceans now face, corals are running out of possible recovery time. It's becoming much harder for them to make a comeback.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjYyMDAzMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTM4MTc0NX0.4yY0nPy9P2wVxS7-oQelaw25JhphOkf_kbxXGoam8k8/img.jpg?width=980" id="44834" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="313ce486f8f995a433918e52e6494828" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />A major coral bleaching event on part of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Oregon State University / CC BY-SA 2.0
<p>Not only does climate change raise the temperature of the oceans, resulting in inhospitable conditions for corals, it deposits excess carbon dioxide into the water — increasing seawater's acidity. More acidic waters can erode hard corals' skeletons and make it more difficult for corals to grow. The cumulative effects have been seen around the planet. <a href="https://coast.noaa.gov/states/fast-facts/coral-reefs.html" target="_blank">According</a> to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than 27 percent of the world's coral population has died over the past three decades.</p><p>According to UNESCO, bleaching on coral reefs across the world was first documented in 1983, but since then its frequency and severity has quickly accelerated. In a 2017 report, the organization identified the cause of bleaching on 72% of its so-called "globally significant" reefs from 2014 to 2017 as record-breaking ocean temperatures.</p><p>Marine biologist Maria Anderson said a dying coral reef is a painful thing to witness.</p><p>"During bleaching, the usual reef hues of browns, purples and greens are replaced by a white ghost town," said Andersen, a resident marine biologist at Ocean Group Maldives who is part of an upstarting coral reef replanting project based at InterContinental Resort, a hotel on Raa Atoll. "Soft corals appear as white blobs that melt off rocks and hard corals turn into fragile skeletons. The only way I can describe it is heartbreaking."</p>
Secret Weapon # 1: The Public
<p>To stem this tide, restoration efforts now mostly involve growing corals in undersea nurseries and transplanting them onto dying reefs that are losing coral. Like saplings being replanted in a fallen forest, young corals can help regenerate an ecosystem that's becoming barren.</p><p>But the work can be expensive and labor-intensive. According to researchers it can cost <a href="https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.rc0jn" target="_blank">more than $150,000</a> to restore one reef — a small fortune in low-income coastal communities that may struggle to find funding.</p><p>That's why restoration efforts have grown increasingly reliant on the help of citizen scientists. This has significantly reduced the high price tag of restoration by replacing paid labor with volunteers — without any noticeable decline in success. Research shows the growth and survival rate of the corals planted by citizen scientists is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1617138117301504" target="_blank">almost identical</a> to corals planted by experts. When handled properly, the corals replanted by volunteers survive at a rate of at least 80 percent, and often exceeds 90 percent, said Dalton Hesley, a senior research associate at the University of Miami Benthic Ecology and Coral Restoration Lab, who led that study.</p><p>"Replanting is an investment," Hesley said. "These corals should, in theory, live indefinitely, and you should expect to see growth over the years."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjYyMDAzNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjQwODgwMX0.TpiaDcCidHgwJlZoyH_dYLp9Iuq0d38-Yh34jbwroHs/img.jpg?width=980" id="f7520" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fa1108fd8244c77a8b6657041c5892a5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />A healthy staghorn coral colony two years after it was planted on a reef in the Florida Keys.
FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
<p>But that's only if we also take necessary action to prevent further degradation of, and ultimately remediate, the oceans, he said. Unless the world addresses climate change, runoff, pollution and development, reefs will continue to decline and risk being lost forever.</p><p>At this moment in Earth's history, "I don't think it should be a matter of choosing one over the other," said Andersen. Both large-scale efforts to address the climate crisis and labor-intensive replanting efforts are necessary to give reefs a chance of surviving Earth's current extinction crisis. "We have to meet somewhere in the middle, finding renewable resources while also restoring reefs. We can't just sit around and wait, leaving corals in limbo."</p>
Secret Weapon # 2: Genetics
<p>"On first glance replanting may seem like a distraction from mitigating climate change, which is what we have to do if we want to save reefs," said Andersen. But she says restoration can give corals a better chance — especially when they're coupled with recent efforts to supercharge replanting by <a href="https://www.newsdeeply.com/oceans/articles/2017/08/28/race-to-decode-coral-dna-to-save-worlds-reefs-from-extinction" target="_blank">genetically identifying</a> the most diverse and resilient species.</p><p>A well-planned, diverse reef is probably the best remedy to bleaching, Andersen said.</p><p>"I've heard of hundreds of restoration projects around the world, but none that have failed," she said. "But if one happened to fail, I would assume its leaders failed to create enough coral diversity."</p><p>Hesley agreed: "With high diversity there's strength."</p><p>Thousands of species of hard and soft corals have been identified to date, and each of these species has varying levels of resistance to stressors. Even within a species, scientists have identified different <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/21/10586" target="_blank">gene patterns</a> that can convey different benefits.</p><p>"Some corals grow very quickly, some are less prone to disease, some bleach less, some are hardier during storms, for example," Hesley said. "There's not one coral species or individual that excels across the board, so we must focus on creating high levels of coral diversity."</p><p>Larger-scale reef restoration projects, like the <a href="http://rescueareef.rsmas.miami.edu/" target="_blank">program</a> Hesley is involved in at the University of Miami, keep track of coral genetics using DNA analysis, ensuring coral diversity. Smaller-scale programs in rather remote places, like Andersen's project in the Maldives, often do not have in-house access to labs and genetics testing, which can be prohibitively expensive.</p><p>Andersen said these challenges require her to go through a complex research process and collaboration with coral geneticists on a different atoll to pinpoint the most and least resilient coral species. Then, she must carefully remove fragments of coral from reefs known to have survived past bleaching events so that they can be used to spawn more hardy corals. After that, she monitors the donor reef and fragments to ensure they stay healthy. These preliminary parts of the replanting process, which require permits and extraordinary precision, are left up to the professionals.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjYyMDAzNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNDQ4NjkyNn0.EJgvphllBv-4WXC6n2Q98AJJ1x5UNydcM2c7Ah-ITA0/img.jpg?width=980" id="cf825" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0b5fd81aa53152e76daf921add21a303" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Choosing coral parent colonies to aid reef restoration efforts.
FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Promise and Challenges
<p>When it comes to giving dying corals another shot, Hesley acknowledged that coral reef restoration is not a perfect solution. He said finding adequate funding, staff and volunteer labor, and addressing the root causes of reef decline — climate change and local stressors to reef health — are lingering challenges.</p><p>However, Anderson said the benefits of reef restoration, especially those powered by citizen scientists, are strong compared to their drawbacks. This has led to projects cropping up on reefs all around the world, developed by scientists hired by research institutions and hotels alike.</p><p>One of the most exciting she's seen is a citizen-science restoration project led by Peter Harrison of Southern Cross University in Australia, who has developed a backpack-sized inflatable coral spawn catcher and nursery pool in which baby corals can grow until they're big enough to be replanted.</p><p>Of course, even volunteers can only do so much. Harrison has also pioneered use of robots to swiftly distribute baby corals onto nearly 7.5 acres of damaged reefs, doing a job in just six hours that would take several human hands at least a week. If perfected, it could put volunteer seeding efforts effectively out of business.</p><p>But there's always a role for people willing to help. After corals are propagated, whether it's by hand or machine, citizen scientists can help care for them in undersea nurseries.</p><p>All of this requires careful planning. Andersen emphasizes the importance of establishing clearly defined goals for restoration, based around a community's needs and available resources. Another aspect of a successful restoration effort, she said, is an effective and accessible training program that primes citizen scientists on how to participate and, ultimately, care about the future of corals.</p><p>And that ties into the fundamental reason why citizen science still matters: because restoration buys time for corals. Experts at the Smithsonian Research Institute have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-0988-x" target="_blank">found</a> that the more living coral a reef has when exposed to highly acidic waters, the more likely it is to survive, instead of bleaching and dying.</p><p>Meanwhile, the efforts help to connect people to something that otherwise might stay out of sight and out of mind beneath the surface of the ocean.</p><p>"I don't think a lot of people who get involved in restoration initially have that emotional attachment to coral reefs simply because they haven't had a chance to care about them," Andersen said. "Restoration gives them the opportunity to make a connection, to really understand how dire the situation is, and to do something that can help."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Australia Throws Great Barrier Reef a $300 Million Lifeline, but Will It Cut Emissions?
20 April
Science
Australia's Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program will further investigate 43 potential fixes for the Great Barrier Reef in a wide-scale rescue effort. Australian Institute of Marine Science
The Great Barrier Reef is in trouble. The Australian government is trying to buy its crown jewel some time, but is it willing to support what the reef needs most — a reduction in emissions?
<p>A few weeks ago, the world's greatest coral reef suffered its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coral-bleaching-great-barrier-reef-2645576557.html" target="_self">third major bleaching event</a> in five years, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/great-barrier-reef-bleaching-2020-2645655957.html" target="_self">most widespread to date</a>. The frequency and severity of the bleachings have caused some scientists to speculate whether the reef has reached a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coral-reef-bleaching-frequency-2645625927.html" target="_self">tipping point</a> of no return.</p><p>On Thursday, Minister of the Environment Susan Ley announced the launch of the <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/rrap-r-d-program" target="_blank">research and development (R&D) phase</a> of the government's <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/home" target="_blank">Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP)</a> to combat the declines the reef is experiencing.</p>
<p>Following a <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/investment-case-reports" target="_blank">two-year feasibility study</a> led by the <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/" target="_blank">Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)</a>, a list of 160 potential fixes was whittled down to 43 promising concepts that will be funded for further investigation.</p><p>AIMS Chief Executive Paul Hardisty described how the R&D phase will "provide the scientific basis to help the reef survive in the coming decades," noted a <a href="https://app.wipster.io/Review/CYd0JQB8xsdI6pVHEelJXg9d9n6MKF2hFwrJS8xnAHVqhhilgA#asset=1" target="_blank">media statement</a>. The program is designed to uncover adaptations for the reef that are cost-effective, safe, and acceptable to the public and regulators, Hardisty said.</p><p>But how effective can an adaptation and resilience program really be against the backdrop of ever-increasing global emissions and ocean temperatures?</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE0NjE0NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTkyNDg1OH0.FDEh9YBEUzrdku4Jvq4_EzR6VBEvcYJDmcQJgqHFyI4/img.png?width=980" id="22914" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="16bd31453bd95bfc997c1ccbfd4b9efe" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem. Stretching 2,300 km along Australia's northeast coastline, this complex of shallow water reefs and islands is home to thousands of species of fish, invertebrates, algae, reptiles, birds and algae. This image, taken by the VIIRS sensor on the Suomi NPP satellite on Aug.19, 2017 uses the high resolution SVI 3, 2, and 1 bands, commonly referred to as "natural color" RGB. NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)
<p>The feasibility study found that global warming might kill the entire Great Barrier Reef by as early as 2050, reported Hack.</p><p>Most tropical coral reefs will disappear even if <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-ipcc-report-2610866229.html" target="_self">heating can be limited to 1.5°C</a>, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-3/" target="_blank">said</a>, reported <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/16/brightening-clouds-and-coral-larvae-study-picks-best-great-barrier-reef-rescue-ideas" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. Reefs will still be "at very high risk" at 1.2°C warming, and the globe is already over 1°C since the Industrial Revolution, The Guardian explained.</p><p>The feasibility report concluded, "We are facing the very real prospect that, within a generation and without concerted action to reduce emissions and help drive adaptation and faster recovery from damage, the Great Barrier Reef as we have known it will cease to exist," reported <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/australias-daring-attempt-to-save-great-barrier-reef-has-begun/12155326" target="_blank">Hack</a>.</p><p>To avoid this, the scientists are calling for an intervention at a scale never seen before, and they're trying to find adaptation solutions before climate change destroys what remains of the reef, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/18/rebuild-it-shade-it-breed-it-three-tactics-to-buy-time-for-the-great-barrier-reef" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
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<p>Daniel Harrison, a biological oceanographer at Southern Cross University, led one of the 43 experimental trials being funded for further research.</p><p>"This is a race against time," he said to The Guardian. "If we can go really hard on emissions and meet or beat the Paris [climate] targets, then these interventions have the potential to help get the reef to a sustainable future – but only under that very aggressive emissions reduction scenario."</p><p>Therein lies one of the historically sticky points for environmentalists when it comes to Australia's "hypocritical" environmental protection efforts contrasted against its broader, coal-friendly environmental policies, reported <a href="https://fortune.com/2018/04/30/australia-great-barrier-reef-climate-change/" target="_blank">Fortune</a>.</p><p>In 2017, <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org.au/news/governments-coal-crush-real-threat-great-barrier-reef/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a> called the government's "coal crush" the real threat to the Great Barrier Reef because it "[ignored] the simple reality of climate change." In 2018, Australia invested $379 million into saving the reef. The government <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/usda-removing-safeguards-on-food-2645756313.html" target="_self">concurrently promoted the building of new coal mines</a>, which fuel global warming that harms the reef.</p><p>In 2019, Australia continued its "love affair with fossil fuels," setting <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/australia-emissions-record-high-2639152810.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">new record highs for emissions pollution</a>. That same year, the marine park authority approved plans to dump one million tonnes (approximately 1.1 million U.S. tons) of sludge onto the reef.</p><p>As recently as December 2019, coal advocate and current Prime Minister Scott Morrison received backlash for vacationing in Hawaii and seeming "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/australia-fires-michael-mann-2644442561.html" target="_self">remarkably indifferent</a>" while bush fires devastated the country, reported <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/as-fires-devastate-australia-a-coal-loving-leader-faces-an-early-test/2020/01/08/a7827ebc-3178-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>. The fires were exacerbated by climate change and the spike in greenhouse gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels, explained The Washington Post.</p><p>In response, Morrison said, "Our emissions reductions policies will both protect our environment and seek to reduce the risks and hazards we are seeing today," reported The Washington Post.</p>
<p>The realities of climate change and coral bleaching have led even the scientists spearheading this latest effort to save the reef to characterize the RRAP as a long shot, reported <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/australias-daring-attempt-to-save-great-barrier-reef-has-begun/12155326" target="_blank">Hack</a>.<br></p><p>AIMS principal research scientist Ken Anthony told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/18/rebuild-it-shade-it-breed-it-three-tactics-to-buy-time-for-the-great-barrier-reef" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, "It's a bit like the Apollo 11 mission. It really is on that scale."</p><p>Hardisty also metaphorically compared the new program to the "high-risk but successful U.S. mission to put a man on the moon before the end of the '60s," reported <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/australias-daring-attempt-to-save-great-barrier-reef-has-begun/12155326" target="_blank">Hack</a>. He agreed that success might seem like a "moonshot," given the current situation on the reef and global emissions, but optimistically added, "If we work hard and are smart and are courageous we can turn this around," reported Hack.</p><p>The R&D phase will be funded by the Australian government and a consortium of universities and marine studies institutes. The government committed $150 million for the next five years, and that figure could jump to $300 million with promised donations from the private sector and in-kind investments from R&D providers, noted a <a href="https://minister.awe.gov.au/ley/media-releases/150-million-drive-innovations-boost-reef-resilience" target="_blank">government press release</a>.</p><p>The feasibility study found that the efforts could result in a net benefit to Australia of tens of billions of dollars, much greater than the initial investment, the <a href="https://www.gbrrestoration.org/investment-case-reports" target="_blank">investment case</a> said.</p>
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