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Lalyn Egloria Vallejos
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11 views1 page

Padiks

Uploaded by

Lalyn Egloria Vallejos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Coral reefs are facing increasing challenges due to human activities, including changes in coastlines,

overeploitation of resources, and pollution. Warm-water coral reefs have declined by atleast 50 over
the past 30-50 years, while cold-water reefs have been under escalating pressure since the mid- 1980s.
Key drivers of the destruction include commercial bottom trawling, hydrocarbon exploration, deep sea
mining, pollution, waste disposal, coral exploitation, and trade. The slow turn-over rates of deep-sea
corals and their potential for hydrocarbon extraction and mining pose risks to coral reefs ecosystems.
The direct impact of these changes has been growing since the early 1980s, and understanding and
solving both local and global threats is crucial for coral reefs to survive the greatest rates of
environmental change in Earth’s history.

Warm water coral reefs are influenced by ocean surface changes, while cold-water reefs systems are
more influenced by the bulk ocean’s conditions. These differences may lead to different projections of
planetary warming and ocean adicification. Warm-water coral reef environments have experienced
minimal temperature and atmospheric C02 fluctuations during glacial cycles. These changes occurred
over 10,000 years and are slower than pre-industrial climatic changes. Deep-water coral reefs likely have
less varied habitats overtime. The upper ocean has warmed between 1971 and 2010, likely due to
increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

Ocean chemistry is changing due to increasing C02 levels, leading to increased salinity at tropical
latitudes and rainfall, which affects coastal ecosystems like warm-water coral reefs. Changes in storm
and rainfall intensity also influence coastal water quality, which is crucial for coral reefs. Climate change
is exacerbated by human activities that already impact water quality, coastal erosion, and biological
systems. Global sea levels are increasing by an average of 3.2 mm year-1 due to ocean warming and land
ice melting. Ocean acidification, phenomenon where C02 reacts with water, decreases ocean pH and
carbonate ion concentration. This is biologically significant, as it affects the rate at which the marine
organisms build their calcareous structures. These changes in ocean chemistry are dependent, with C02
absorption and acidification being highest when waters are cooler.

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