Scientists project 70 to 90 percent of coral reefs will disappear over the next 20 years

[Wee Mad Arthur]

Warming, acidic oceans may nearly eliminate coral reef habitats by 2100

Rising sea surface temperatures and acidic waters could eliminate nearly all existing coral reef habitats by 2100, suggesting restoration projects in these areas will likely meet serious challenges, according to new research.

www.sciencedaily.com

May have missed it but I’ve not seen it mentioned on here.

 

[Aardvark1134]

While none of us want that to happen... keep in mind in the 70s they knew we were going into an ice age. In 1980 they knew the world would be out of oil by 1995. Scientists are very good at proving why they must have more funding or else in 5-10 years poof. Let’s all hope they are wrong as we all love the ocean

 

[biophilia]

While none of us want that to happen... keep in mind in the 70s they knew we were going into an ice age. In 1980 they knew the world would be out of oil by 1995. Scientists are very good at proving why they must have more funding or else in 5-10 years poof. Let’s all hope they are wrong as we all love the ocean

While it’s a common ideological talking point, it’s just untrue that “they” “knew” we were going into an ice age in the 70’s. I say this as somebody who has a degree in this field, has read 100’s of published papers on the subject, and knows numerous climate scientists who were specifically working on researching anthropogenic _warming_ during that decade. You can use sci-hub and do your own meta-analysis of the papers at that time yourself if you’re really interested. Approximately 10% or fewer researchers were predicting any sort of cooling related to anthropogenic emissions back then.

Today so much more is known about the earth system and associated feedbacks and forcings — and it’s really pretty universally accepted by actively-publishing scientists, as well as every single national science academy and research university on the planet, that digging up nearly 400 billions of sequestered carbon and injecting it into the present day carbon cycle has problematic ramifications for life that has adapted to the relatively mild climate of the Holocene.

 

[Humblefish]

When/if this happens, our entire ecosystem will collapse. And then George Carlin's prediction (edited out the curse words) will finally come to pass:

There is nothing wrong with the planet… nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine… the people are screwed! Difference! The planet is fine! Compared to the people, THE PLANET IS DOING GREAT: Been here four and a half billion years! Do you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years, we’ve been here what? 100,000? Maybe 200,000? And we’ve only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over 200 years. 200 years versus four and a half billion and we have the conceit to think that somehow, we’re a threat? That somehow, we’re going to put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that’s just a-floatin’ around the sun? The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us: been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drifts, solar flares, sunspots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles, hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages, and we think some plastic bags and aluminum cans are going to make a difference?

The planet isn’t going anywhere… we are! We’re going away! Pack your stuff folks! We’re going away and we won’t leave much of a trace either, thank God for that… maybe a little styrofoam… maybe… little styrofoam. The planet will be here, we’ll be long gone; just another failed mutation; just another closed-end biological mistake; an evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas, a surface nuisance. You wanna know how the planet’s doing? Ask those people in Pompeii who are frozen into position from volcanic ash how the planet’s doing. Wanna know if the planet’s all right? Ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. How about those people in Kilauea, Hawaii who build their homes right next to an active volcano and then wonder why they have lava in the living room?

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we’re gone and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself cause that’s what it does. It’s a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it’s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: The Earth plus Plastic. The Earth doesn’t share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the Earth! The Earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the Earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place: it wanted plastic for itself, didn’t know how to make it, needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old philosophical question: “Why are we here?” PLASTIC!!!

 

[Waynerock]

When/if this happens, our entire ecosystem will collapse. And then George Carlin's prediction (edited out the curse words) will finally come to pass:

There is nothing wrong with the planet… nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine… the people are screwed! Difference! The planet is fine! Compared to the people, THE PLANET IS DOING GREAT: Been here four and a half billion years! Do you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years, we’ve been here what? 100,000? Maybe 200,000? And we’ve only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over 200 years. 200 years versus four and a half billion and we have the conceit to think that somehow, we’re a threat? That somehow, we’re going to put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that’s just a-floatin’ around the sun? The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us: been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drifts, solar flares, sunspots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles, hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages, and we think some plastic bags and aluminum cans are going to make a difference?

The planet isn’t going anywhere… we are! We’re going away! Pack your stuff folks! We’re going away and we won’t leave much of a trace either, thank God for that… maybe a little styrofoam… maybe… little styrofoam. The planet will be here, we’ll be long gone; just another failed mutation; just another closed-end biological mistake; an evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas, a surface nuisance. You wanna know how the planet’s doing? Ask those people in Pompeii who are frozen into position from volcanic ash how the planet’s doing. Wanna know if the planet’s all right? Ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. How about those people in Kilauea, Hawaii who build their homes right next to an active volcano and then wonder why they have lava in the living room?

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we’re gone and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself cause that’s what it does. It’s a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it’s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: The Earth plus Plastic. The Earth doesn’t share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the Earth! The Earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the Earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place: it wanted plastic for itself, didn’t know how to make it, needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old philosophical question: “Why are we here?” PLASTIC!!!

Good one! RIP George! I used to get boot leg cassettes back in the late 80’s when I was 12-13 and loved it. My mom would always find em and get mad and throw them away, that and my Beastie Boys ( you know the whole wiffle ball thing). Always had another made by the end of the day

 

[Just_Pete]

When/if this happens, our entire ecosystem will collapse. And then George Carlin's prediction (edited out the curse words) will finally come to pass:

There is nothing wrong with the planet… nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine… the people are screwed! Difference! The planet is fine! Compared to the people, THE PLANET IS DOING GREAT: Been here four and a half billion years! Do you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years, we’ve been here what? 100,000? Maybe 200,000? And we’ve only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over 200 years. 200 years versus four and a half billion and we have the conceit to think that somehow, we’re a threat? That somehow, we’re going to put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that’s just a-floatin’ around the sun? The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us: been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drifts, solar flares, sunspots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles, hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages, and we think some plastic bags and aluminum cans are going to make a difference?

The planet isn’t going anywhere… we are! We’re going away! Pack your stuff folks! We’re going away and we won’t leave much of a trace either, thank God for that… maybe a little styrofoam… maybe… little styrofoam. The planet will be here, we’ll be long gone; just another failed mutation; just another closed-end biological mistake; an evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas, a surface nuisance. You wanna know how the planet’s doing? Ask those people in Pompeii who are frozen into position from volcanic ash how the planet’s doing. Wanna know if the planet’s all right? Ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. How about those people in Kilauea, Hawaii who build their homes right next to an active volcano and then wonder why they have lava in the living room?

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we’re gone and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself cause that’s what it does. It’s a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it’s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: The Earth plus Plastic. The Earth doesn’t share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the Earth! The Earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the Earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place: it wanted plastic for itself, didn’t know how to make it, needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old philosophical question: “Why are we here?” PLASTIC!!!

So so true.

 

[hubcap]

global temps, as well as overall composition of atmospheric conditions, have shown wild global swings over the millennia ..... Several scientific studies have proven this in great detail and great precision.
While humans have added another variable into the equation, because, we're the first species that have had such 'control' over the environment, on a global scale, I would assume this trend to continue. Call me crazy. Burning fossil fuels or not. Who really knows if the next globally catastrophic volcanic eruption isn't lurking in the very near future? Another Krakatoa, et al, could be worse than global car exhaust output in a matter of days. Acidifying the waters and spewing sun blocking ash. Doing much more harm than our V6 civics and coal burning power plants. (we just need greater care of radiation levels that we introduce......that nastiness takes, in some cases, thousands of years to become only HALF as dangerous.

While we all love our oceans, and all flora and fauna, wild environmental swings are nothing new to the planet.
Will scientists be correct in their prediction that 70-90 percent of reefs will be gone by "X" time frame?
Who knows with 100 percent certainty? I do know with 100 percent certainty, that we, as a species do have the means to preserve coral, over time, until such adverse conditions pass; which they eventually will, (either naturally or scientifically, or both) giving us an opportunity to not only manage and mitigate the damage we as humans cause to the planet, we might even be able to re-seed the oceans with said preserved corals. So keep the hobby going

Just my take on things. Im no environmental scientist. I don't hold a PhD in any such discipline. Just calling it how I personally see it. Ice ages have come and gone. CO2 levels have risen and fallen. Oceanic acidity has fluctuated over time as well.

All the more reason to collect and keep corals. So we can be the ones that reseed the oceans if, of course, they don't happen to do it themselves.

 

[gotmesalty77]

Ive said this for years with no scientific evidence that coral will be gone in the oceans long before i die this may be my only chance to see even a small portion of it. That to me is honestly worth all of the cost of the hobby headache and all.

 

[ScottR]

Here we go again... Hopefully this doesn’t turn into a death match. Keep an open mind and be nice please. ;Meh

 

[Salt & Peper]

When/if this happens, our entire ecosystem will collapse. And then George Carlin's prediction (edited out the curse words) will finally come to pass:

There is nothing wrong with the planet… nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine… the people are screwed! Difference! The planet is fine! Compared to the people, THE PLANET IS DOING GREAT: Been here four and a half billion years! Do you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years, we’ve been here what? 100,000? Maybe 200,000? And we’ve only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over 200 years. 200 years versus four and a half billion and we have the conceit to think that somehow, we’re a threat? That somehow, we’re going to put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that’s just a-floatin’ around the sun? The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us: been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drifts, solar flares, sunspots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles, hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages, and we think some plastic bags and aluminum cans are going to make a difference?

The planet isn’t going anywhere… we are! We’re going away! Pack your stuff folks! We’re going away and we won’t leave much of a trace either, thank God for that… maybe a little styrofoam… maybe… little styrofoam. The planet will be here, we’ll be long gone; just another failed mutation; just another closed-end biological mistake; an evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas, a surface nuisance. You wanna know how the planet’s doing? Ask those people in Pompeii who are frozen into position from volcanic ash how the planet’s doing. Wanna know if the planet’s all right? Ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. How about those people in Kilauea, Hawaii who build their homes right next to an active volcano and then wonder why they have lava in the living room?

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we’re gone and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself cause that’s what it does. It’s a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it’s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: The Earth plus Plastic. The Earth doesn’t share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the Earth! The Earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the Earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place: it wanted plastic for itself, didn’t know how to make it, needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old philosophical question: “Why are we here?” PLASTIC!!!

I couldn't write that nearly as well. So +1!!!!

 

[Salt & Peper]

Ive said this for years with no scientific evidence that coral will be gone in the oceans long before i die this may be my only chance to see even a small portion of it. That to me is honestly worth all of the cost of the hobby headache and all.

They have found coral reefs on top of mountains! While the ocean currents are changing and reefs are dying but they will recolonize some place new!!! But I'm no scientist.

 

[KenRexford]

I for one can't wait for global warming. I have seen pictures of what corals looked like hundreds of millions of years ago looked like per the fossil records, and I want some of them in my tank. A trilobite cuc would be the bomb. What I can't figure out is how the heck the corals survived for all of those many years of climate changes. My suspicion is that the T-Rex probably stopped eating farting Tricerotops. Yeah, probably Jurassic-triassic error, but whatever.

 

[Brian_68]

I watched a coral reef off St. John USVI get decimated within 10 years when I went back to the exact same spot. Lush coral then barren with little fish left. Yeah it can and is happening. Not isolated either. Maybe not 90% but the changes I have seen in the last 20 years are a frightful trend regardless of the cause.

 

[PicassoDan]

It's hard to read sarcasm on the internet... but yeah, let's try to be civil.

I'm curious: are the researchers claiming the oceans will be acidic by 2100? Like pH below 7 acidic? I've heard the misnomer "acidification" before and kind of roll my eyes, but actually saying the oceans will be acidic? Really?

*edit: I looked through the links and couldn't find any actual content, just an interview with the author and a splashy title. Maybe there's a paper somewhere.

 

[CubsFan]

Talking about being a jerk I was kidding. Must of hit a nerve when I said democrats. God Lighten up, I’m sorry I scared you.I guess your be telling me your be around 2100 too

Sorry home slice. Don’t say stupid things unless you’re willing to take some criticism. What you said is ridiculous. You even got a little pal who chimed in. Spreading misinformation to attack political figures on a reef website is weird.

 

[Piranhapat]

Sorry home slice. Don’t say stupid things unless you’re willing to take some criticism. What you said is ridiculous. You even got a little pal who chimed in. Spreading misinformation to attack political figures on a reef website is weird.

I can tell your not very bright. I guess I hit a political nerve. Your the one that can’t take criticism. It was a joke.... take it to serious Pro . Lol happy reefing the world is ending soon.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

While none of us want that to happen... keep in mind in the 70s they knew we were going into an ice age. In 1980 they knew the world would be out of oil by 1995. Scientists are very good at proving why they must have more funding or else in 5-10 years poof. Let’s all hope they are wrong as we all love the ocean

Very well put

 

[CubsFan]

I can tell your not very bright. I guess I hit a political nerve. Your the one that can’t take criticism. It was a joke.... take it to serious Pro . Lol happy reefing the world is ending soon.

Just be careful with your typos when you challenge someone’s intelligence.
If you don’t want to contribute anything to discussions on climate change, don’t comment. It’s that simple. It’s really strange to me that you would say something you know is going to be controversial and then act shocked when you get a reply that disagrees with you.

 

[eskymick]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m 66 years old and I’ve been hearing the exact same story for the past 50 years.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Shake your rods off, fish for crap and you’ll catch it