SOS FOR REEFS.The world'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). are in danger of complete extinction due to global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. , warns a new report produced at Australia's University of Sydney The University of Sydney, established in Sydney in 1850, is the oldest university in Australia. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" Australian universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance. (see "Clouds Over the Coral," March/April 1999). Professor Ove HoeghGuldberg predicts that if climactic trends continue, the dramatic bleaching observed in coral populations around the world will accelerate rapidly. "Bleaching events in 1998, the worst year on record, saw the complete loss of live coral from reefs in some parts of the world," the report says, adding that entire reef systems in the Indian Ocean Indian Ocean, third largest ocean, c.28,350,000 sq mi (73,427,000 sq km), extending from S Asia to Antarctica and from E Africa to SE Australia; it is c.4,000 mi (6,400 km) wide at the equator. It constitutes about 20% of the world's total ocean area. have disappeared. Coral bleaching, a relatively new phenomenon, can result from a water temperature rise of only a few degrees Fahrenheit. Among the international treasures threatened by warmer water are the formations surrounding the Florida Keys (the only coral reef in the continental U.S.) and the Great Barrier Reef Great Barrier Reef, largest complex of coral reef in the world, c.1,250 mi (2,000 km) long, in the Coral Sea, forming a natural breakwater for the coast of Queensland, NE Australia. in Australia, where Professor Hoegh-Guldberg is based. The report predicts that, if global warming continues apace, the world will lose nearly all its coral by 2100. CONTACT: Greenpeace, 1436 U Street NW, Washington, DC 20009/(202)319-2432, |
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