Grim future for coral.See "Indonesia's Coral Reefs coral reefs, limestone formations produced by living organisms, found in shallow, tropical marine waters. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals, colonial cnidarians that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate (limestone). on the Line," May/June 2001, p. 12 Half of the world's coral reefs may die within the next 40 years unless urgent measures are taken to protect them from climate change, the World Conservation Union (IUCN IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. ) warned in October October: see month. . Reefs off east Africa and in the Caribbean have recently undergone extensive bleaching bleaching, process of whitening by chemicals or by exposure to sun and air, commonly applied to textiles, paper pulp, wheat flour, petroleum products, oils and fats, straw, hair, feathers, and wood. as surface waters have warmed. Visit www.worldwatch.org/ww/ to access these and other archived editions of World Watch. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion