Ocean acidification puts risk at Coral reefs of dissolving

NewsBharati    23-Feb-2018
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Oslo, February 23: The errors of Humans are coming down heavily on nature. The man-made disaster of climate change can totally destroy coral reefs before 2100. The diverse underwater ecosystem could start to dissolve before next century due to acidification of oceans. A new research published in Science Journal has revealed the fact.

Carbonate sands are the building material for the frameworks of coral reefs and shallow reef environments like lagoons, reef flats, and coral sand cays. The chemical make-up of seawater creates a sensation to these sands. As oceans are absorbing carbon-di-oxides more, these carbon sands could totally dissolve.

For a coral reef to grow or be maintained, the rate of carbonate production (plus any external sediment supply) must be greater than the loss through physical, chemical and biological erosion, transport and dissolution.

The scientists measured the impact of acidity on carbonate sands by placing underwater chambers over coral reefs sands at Heron Island, Hawaii, Bermuda, and Tetiaroa in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Some of the chambers were then acidified to represent future ocean conditions.

The rate at which the sands dissolve was strongly related to the acidity of the overlying seawater, and was ten times more sensitive than coral growth to ocean acidification. In other words, ocean acidification will impact the dissolution of coral reef sands more than the growth of corals.

Coral reef Ecology Ocean Ecosystem