The mutually beneficial relationship between algae and modern corals—which provides algae with shelter, gives coral reefs their colors and supplies both organisms with nutrients—began more than 210 million years ago, ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 2, 2016
0
411
The sea encircling Antarctica acts as a huge mixer for water from all the ocean basins—and this circulating pattern influences the exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) between the ocean and the atmosphere. A study by an international ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 31, 2019
0
281
The rising acidity of the oceans threatens coral reefs by making it harder for corals to build their skeletons. A new study identifies the details of how ocean acidification affects coral skeletons, allowing scientists to ...
Environment
Jan 29, 2018
0
263
Mats of algae and seaweed have shrouded the once thick coral in shallow reefs off Jamaica's north coast. Warm ocean waters have bleached out the coral, and in a cascade of ecological decline, the sea urchins and plant-eating ...
Environment
Feb 26, 2013
4
0
Coral reefs are vibrant communities that host a quarter of all species in the ocean and are indirectly crucial to the survival of the rest. But they are slowly dying—some estimates say 30 to 50 percent of reefs have been ...
Environment
Nov 9, 2020
0
272
As the ocean absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) released by the burning of fossil fuels, its chemistry is changing. The CO2 reacts with water molecules, lowering the ocean's pH in a process known as ocean acidification. ...
Environment
Jun 5, 2015
2
294
Groundwater containing excess nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers likely contaminated coral reefs on the Cook Islands during the second half of the 20th century, continuing for years after fertilizer use stopped, according ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 5, 2018
0
132
Coral skeletons are the building blocks of diverse coral reef ecosystems, which has led to increasing concern over how these key species will cope with warming and acidifying oceans that threaten their stability.
Environment
Aug 28, 2017
7
159
New evidence of sea-level oscillations during a warm period that started about 125,000 years ago raises the possibility of a similar scenario if the planet continues its more recent warming trend, says a research team led ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 11, 2011
8
0
For reef-building corals, sponges do not make good neighbors. Aggressive competitors for space, sponges use toxins, mucus, shading, and smothering to kill adjacent coral colonies and then grow on their skeletons. A recent ...
Environment
Apr 28, 2015
0
37
