Coral Bleaching

Strongest population growth is located in

coastal areas (with greater exposure to floods, cyclones and tidal
waves). The amount of sediments and nutrients into the ocean from
rivers associated with unsustainable land uses, as well as
from storms and sewage, also result in the eutrophication of
some coastal ecosystems and the coverage of corals by silt or
algae, reduced visibility and light in the water column, and
hence, subsequently dramatically reduced ability of corals to
recover.

Global warming from increasing greenhouse gas concentrations

is a significant driver of both contributions to sea-level
rise. From 1955 to 1995, ocean thermal expansion is estimated
to have contributed about 0.4 mm per year to sea level rise, less
than 25 per cent of the observed rise over the same period. For
the 1993 to 2003 decade, for which the best data are available,
thermal expansion is estimated to be significantly larger, at about
1.6 mm per year for the upper 750 m of the ocean alone, about
50 per cent of the observed sea level rise of 3.1 mm per year.
Scientists estimate the melting of glaciers and ice caps (excluding
the glaciers covering Greenland and Antarctica) contributed
to sea level rise by about 0.3 mm per year from 1961 to 1990
increasing to about 0.8 mm per year from 2001–2004.

The oceans act as a natural reservoir for CO2. The dissolved

CO2 reacts with the seawater to form hydrogen ions. The uptake
of anthropogenic carbon since 1750 has led to the ocean
becoming more acidic, with an average decrease in pH of 0.1
units. Though the limited number of studies available makes it difficult
to assess confidence levels, potentially severe ecological
changes would result from ocean acidification, especially for
corals both in tropical and cold water, and may influence marine
food chains from carbonate-based plankton up to higher
trophic levels. The oceans are naturally alkaline, with an average pH of around
8.2, although this can vary up to 0.3 units depending on location
and season but this is changing. All marine organisms which need carbonate to build
their calcareous skeletons and shells, such as corals, seashells,
crabs and crayfish, starfish and sea urchins, could be affected.
Even single-celled, planktonic organisms with calcareous shells
(e.g. coccolithospores, certain foraminifera etc.), which form
the basis of many marine food chains, may be affected. 75%
of all cold-water corals will live in calcium carbonate undersaturated
waters. Any part of their skeleton exposed to these
waters will be corroded. Dead coral fragments, important for
the settlement of coral larvae e.g. to re-colonise a reef after a
bleaching event, will be dissolved. The base of the reefs will
be weakened and eventually collapse. Even those organisms
which might be able to cope with the undersaturated conditions
will have to spent more energy in secreting their shells
and skeletons, which makes them more vulnerable to other
stresses and pressures. In tropical areas Dead coral fragments, important for
the settlement of coral larvae e.g. to re-colonise a reef after a
bleaching event, will be dissolved. The base of the reefs will
be weakened and eventually collapse. Even those organisms
which might be able to cope with the undersaturated conditions
will have to spent more energy in secreting their shells
and skeletons, which makes them more vulnerable to other
stresses and pressures.