Please sign and share this petition worldwide and demand that the US Congress protect our coral reefs!!
Coral reefs are an important aspect in fighting ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is the process of ongoing decrease in the pH levels of the Earth’s oceans due to absorption of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This process is necessary in protecting all marine life. However, recent reports in the Nature Climate Change Journal state that coral reefs have the ability to work against ocean acidification, due to the state of the world’s oceans.
Further information in the Journal, based on studies conducted in Bermuda states “Concerns have been raised about how coral reefs will be affected by ocean acidification, but projections of future seawater CO2 chemistry have focused solely on changes in the pH and aragonite saturation state of open-ocean surface seawater conditions surrounding coral reefs, rather than the reef systems themselves.
“The seawater CO2 chemistry within heterogeneous reef systems can be significantly different from that of the open ocean depending on the residence time, community composition, and the main biogeochemical processes occurring on the reef; that is, net ecosystem production and net ecosystem calcification, which combine to modify seawater chemistry. On the basis of observations from the Bermuda coral reef, it has shown that a range of projected biogeochemical responses of coral reef communities to ocean acidification by the end of this century could partially offset changes in seawater pH and aragonite saturation.
Coral reefs serve multiple purposes and are an important aspect in the stability of the world’s oceans to preserve existing coral in the face of pollution and seawater acidification. With all the studies and scientific developments, it is imperative that the oceans and beautiful coral reefs be preserved and protected. Please sign and share this petition worldwide and demand that the US Congress protect our coral reefs!!
