Climate change drove coral reefs to a total ecosystem collapse lasting thousands of years, according to a paper published this week in Science. The paper shows how natural climatic shifts stopped reef growth in the eastern Pacific for 2,500 years. The reef shutdown, which began 4,000 years ago, corresponds to a period of dramatic swings in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). “As humans continue to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the climate is once again on the threshold of a new regime, with dire consequences for reef ecosystems unless we get control of climate change,” said coauthor Richard Aronson, a biology professor at Florida Institute of Technology.
Tag Archives: Science
Climate change may provoke new ozone holes over populated areas in two different ways – increasing risk of skin cancers
In a couple of weeks’ time humanity can celebrate the 25-year anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, our greatest environmental success story. In the margins of this good news there are however also a few new ozone concerns. Climate change may … Continue reading
Geology works on climate through sulfur cycle too
Climate change caused 2,500 year collapse of Panamanian coral reef
Climate warming causes cascading biodiversity loss as large predators and herbivores fall out
Global warming may cause more extinctions than predicted if scientists fail to account for interactions among species in their models, Yale and UConn researchers argue in Science.
Avian flu virus could evolve to human transmission in Nature
It might be possible for human-to-human airborne transmissible avian H5N1 influenza viruses to evolve in nature, new research has found.
Paleostudy shows Arctic climate more vulnerable to warming
Biodiversity increases biomass
In theory less biodiversity would not necessarily imply less biomass. But in reality – in case you were to try and replace all animals with pandas – somewhere along the line you may risk to overlook some important symbiotic connections. And what … Continue reading