HUMAN IMPACT
More on Humanity’s Damage to GBR’s Carbon Cycle
Organic carbon compounds in the atmosphere are taken in by and metabolized by photosynthetic organisms like coral. They in turn produce carbohydrates that are consumed by marine herbivores and omnivores, and move carbon compounds through the food chain to the top, with some lost to decomposition and metabolism.
Coral reefs naturally take in carbon dioxide molecules along with calcium ions to create their calcium carbonate exoskeletons. It is estimated that about half of humanity’s carbon dioxide output was taken in by ocean reefs around the world in the early Industrial Era. However, the presence of ridiculously excessive carbon molecules, like the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide pollution created from human activity, creates carbonic acid when diluted in the ocean. This is known as ocean acidification, and it lowers the pH levels in reef environment to inhospitable levels. The resulting death of coral tissue is called coral bleaching.
Organic carbon compounds in the atmosphere are taken in by and metabolized by photosynthetic organisms like coral. They in turn produce carbohydrates that are consumed by marine herbivores and omnivores, and move carbon compounds through the food chain to the top, with some lost to decomposition and metabolism.
Coral reefs naturally take in carbon dioxide molecules along with calcium ions to create their calcium carbonate exoskeletons. It is estimated that about half of humanity’s carbon dioxide output was taken in by ocean reefs around the world in the early Industrial Era. However, the presence of ridiculously excessive carbon molecules, like the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide pollution created from human activity, creates carbonic acid when diluted in the ocean. This is known as ocean acidification, and it lowers the pH levels in reef environment to inhospitable levels. The resulting death of coral tissue is called coral bleaching.