Sea Levels Much Less Stable Than Earlier Believed
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, new coral dating method suggests.
Fears in Miami That Port Expansion Will Destroy Reefs
As Miami prepares to dredge its port to accommodate supersize freighters, environmentalists are making a last-ditch effort to protect threatened coral reefs and acres of sea grass that they say would be destroyed by the expansion.
Haitian Divers Hope to Aid Ailing Reef
Environmental degradation is rife in Haiti, deforestation, erosion, pollution, and for the most part it is hard to miss. But for decades the country’s marine environment has suffered unseen. Its extensive coral reef system, an attraction to foreign scuba divers in the 1970s and ’80s, has largely died off, partly from sedimentation and climate change, but mostly from overfishing.
Cakaulevu Reef, Fiji
Also called the Great Sea Reef, Cakaulevu shines turquoise through clear, shallow waters. It is the third longest continuous barrier reef in the world, behind the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Mesoamerica Reef off Central America.
Worldwide Map Identifies Important Coral Reefs Exposed to Stress
The world’s coral reefs face a multitude of threats, from rising ocean temperatures to overfishing. A new map aimed at aiding coral conservation has been developed that points out the reefs that are most and least at risk.
Geographic Analysis Offers New Insight Into Coral Disease Spread
In the last 30 years, more than 90 percent of the reef-building coral responsible for maintaining major marine habitats and providing a natural barrier against hurricanes in the Caribbean has disappeared because of a disease of unknown origin.
Reaching The Gap Between Scientists And Policy Makers
Dr. Sylvia Earle, world-renowned oceanographer, joined a team of scientists and government officials, on a week-long expedition “the Mission Blue expedition” to the Swan Islands and Mesoamerican Reef to raise global awareness of the critical importance of the Mesoamerican Reef and surrounding areas.
Outrage At Drilling Permit For Australia Reef
UNESCO just listed Australian western Ningaloo coast as a World Heritage site late last month due to its reef, sea turtles and white whales.But environmentalists expressed outrage after the Australian government green-lighted a proposal from Shell to explore for gas nearby.
Division over future of Chagos islands and islanders
Meeting in London addresses environmental issues surrounding the ban on inhabitation of the Indian Ocean archipelago. The central question was how to balance the archipelago’s environmental importance with its original inhabitants’ argued right to go home.