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Destruction of Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are marine organisms, which are made up of animals, plants and other creatures. The animal part of the coral reef is called the "polyps. " Polyps are calcium and the outer part of polyp is hard. Coral reefs are one of the most significant diverse ecosystems. About 25% of the marine organisms depend on the coral reefs. The largest coral reef in the world is located in northeast coast of Australia, The Great Barrier Reef. Coral reefs are quite important because they are the habitat of many marine lives and they maintain the quality of ocean water. (Duchesne)
For the measurements of the coral reefs, biologists use the computers to measure the pH level of the water flow. It is really important to measure the response of the corals reefs to the ocean acidification. This is one of the biggest threats to the marine ecosystem.
Recent climate change reports have highlighted the...
English: A Blue Starfish (Linckia laevigata) resti...
Ancient Coral Reefs Español: Antiguas Arrecifes d...Human activities like producing carbon dioxide can contribute to the destruction of coral reefs. Carbon dioxide is largely absorbed by ocean water and it makes the water more acidic. This change for the coral is not suitable because the skeleton of the corals can easily breakdown when there are natural disasters like cyclone. The level of carbon dioxide has increased by 40% because of the emission of carbon dioxide from the industries. The level of carbon dioxide rose from 280p.p.m (parts per million) to about 385p.p.m till now. The scientists speculate that coral reefs will survive up to 400p.p.m but they will face extinction if they hit 500p.p.m and the reefs all around the will start eroding and will get affected. For collecting coral cores and preparing the data, Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) uses specialized equipment. The equipment luminometere and densitometer are used for non-destructive coral...