(not so) great (at being a) barrier reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It stretches 1,600 miles over an area that is 133,000 square miles and is made up of 2,900 individual reefs and about 900 islands. It is the largest structure on Earth, made by organisms and can be seen from space.

Unfortunately, it looks as though that is all changing, and quickly.

The growth of the coral polyps has slowed down by 13%. The most likely cause is climate change and the increase of CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The extra CO2 in the air, means that the ocean has to work harder to try and absorb that material. As a result, its pH levels are changing to become more acidic. Shells and coral are made from calcium carbonate that, unfortunately, do not hold up structurally in low pH environments.

Not only is it harder to build coral in this condition but the existing coral is eroding due to the unfavorable waters.

“Our data show that growth and calcification of massive Porites in the Great Barrier Reef are already declining and are doing so at a rate unprecedented in coral records reaching back 400 years,” the researchers wrote. “These organisms are central to the formation and function of ecosystems and food webs, and precipitous changes in the biodiversity and productivity of the world’s oceans may be imminent.”

Click HERE for more information from the original article, via Scientific American