Even Coral Reefs Thought Pristine Pressured By Warming, Acidifying Oceans - Seattle PI

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON -- Even coral reefs thought to be pristine are facing challenges, researchers said Thursday launching the International Year of the Reef. The year of the reef is a "campaign to highlight the importance of coral reef ecosystems and to motivate people to protect them," Conrad Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said at a briefing.

Climate warming has become an increasing threat to reefs, added Clive Wilkinson, coordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Corals have an upper limit of temperatures they can tolerate, he said.

And added carbon dioxide in the ocean water is creating what Wilkinson called the "soda water" effect, increasing the acidity of the water and making it harder for corals to form their shells.

Mark Patterson of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, reported from the Caribbean island of Bonaire that even there, some effects are being seen. Bonaire "has been viewed as being a pristine environment," he said. But researchers there have found "troubling factors" including the spread of blue-green algae, which may be killing coral.

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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501ap_coral_year.html

[phantom power]

1. I've noticed that climate change does not respect the borders of our nature preserves.