Experts are predicting the worst coral bleaching in two decades could occur in the coming six to 12 months. It is another side effect of global warming.
Coral bleaching happens when coral eject their “zooxanthellae”. It is an alga like protozoan which live in the tissues of coral. The ejection occurs when the sea water becomes warmer or more acidic.
Healthy corals and these unicellular organisms share a symbiotic relationship with the former dependent on the latter for both the pigmentation it provides and its photosynthetic abilities. Without zooxanthellae, the corals do not die but become highly susceptible to disease. Corals also become unattractive to fish.
The Coral reefs are important for other marine creatures like smaller fish since they serve as sources of food and refuge. Corals also maintain the ocean diversity.
Researchers feel that coral bleaching will be more widespread in the coming times because of global warming and the sea water becoming more acidic.
Mark Eakin, head of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch program said, “As the ocean becomes more acidified, the bleaching threshold for corals drops, more carbon dioxide makes corals more sensitive to thermal stress. Not only are we seeing more thermal stress but we’re making them more sensitive at the same time.”
El Nino, the periodic warming phase in the Pacific which occurs in two to seven years also precipitates massive coral bleaching. El Nino phenomenon can last from a couple of months to a year and brings a number of changes in the atmosphere as well as climate. As the ocean temperatures peak, El Nino is expected to trigger a domino effect upon coral bleaching phenomenon across the oceans.
The phenomenon of coral bleaching is expected all over the Pacific Islands and the shores of Australia. The most affected will be Florida, Hawaii, Guam, the Marianas Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu.
The last bleaching event had occurred in 1998 and was caused by El Nino in concurrence with global warming.
edjahman man man says
Hardly anyone “really” cares. We get what we deserve.
FTOP_T says
Another unfounded claim by “experts” with virtually no scientific backing. “Oceans becoming more acidic” without any reference to the pH scale or the magnitude of this change. Further, absolutely no evidence is presented to link these assertions to “global warming”. It is time that we institute a national day of mourning for the death of Science that has occurred through the agenda driven misinformation that poses as research today. The only “truth” revealed by Al Gore is that money can drive scientists to discard their principals. I am not sure what is more alarming, the complete abandonment of the scientific method and peer review process or the vacuum of skepticism that was the hallmark of the 4th Estate which used to challenge these wildly erroneous assertions vs. swallowing and regurgitating them.
Mike Snider says
The algae produce oxygen and other nutrients for the coral. Perhaps they are expelled because they are producing to much in the CO2 rich waters. CO2 absorption by the sea is not very well understood.
inverse137 says
You ever notice how not knowing what they are talking about is rarely an obstacle for americans….
Oh wait…oh course you know that.
Ror C says
By the way, it is simply not true that there is “absolutely no evidence”. Do a little open minded research and use a little common sense. It is very hard to conclude that there is “no evidence” of global warming.
Interesting that you mention money considering how much money the fossil fuel concerns spend setting up pseudo-scientific fronts to make their self-serving claims appear legitimate.
Jose Martinez says
dan…what a bone head…but a “self righteous genius” must know more that God him self….when was the last time you went out on the oceans reefs?…if fossil records show any thing mr. geniass…it is nothing is permanent..on this planet…corals…or humans…get it ?
Robert F. Beisel says
As another proud Harvard Graduate School dropout I must echo Daniel’s alarm. The Anthropocene will devastate our planet and there is essentially nothing we can do given our runaway, mostly ignorant, population. We are the invasive species that has caused the disaster and we are the only ones who can adapt to the cataclysm fast enough. Well, maybe half of us. The other half is too poor and will bear the brunt. Every other living thing will be challenged to cope.
While in graduate school 1974-77 I took a course from a fool named Richard Lindzen in dynamical meteorology. Now he bills himself as a nobel laureate, having served on the IPCC, and makes a living preaching against the ‘hoax’ of climate change, a shill for the Heartland Institute. I divested last June.
reasonableguy says
Follow the link FTOP — is this graph clear enough? Or will you negate it because it is produced by scientists who don’t subscribe to your political bent?
https://services2.arcgis.com/C8EMgrsFcRFL6LrL/arcgis/rest/services/OAMapTour/FeatureServer/0/26/attachments/64
FTOP_T says
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/media/supp_estuar10f_ph.html
Of course you understand the ph scale and its preferred range for aquatic life. The ocean is solidly alkaline and near the top of the healthy range for sea life. Moving closer to nuetral (which is 7 by the way) is not becoming acidic, it is less alkaline. Although a headline that said oceans are becoming less alkaline and safer for aquatic life might not be alarming enough. Not to mention rivers dump billions of much lower ph water into oceans daily.
Again, the media is not doing its job by presenting this information in an alarmist fashion.