At Volcanic Vents Off Eastern New Guinea, A Preview Of Tomorrow's Acidified Oceans

[hatrack]

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Research at the volcanic vents shows that between 30-50% of coral types won't be able to cope with the CO2 levels expected for the world's oceans this century.

The lead scientist, Katharina Fabricius from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, tells me: "There will be winners and losers as ocean acidity increases. Seaweed and seagrass are thriving under higher CO2 levels. But many species lose out. "We are very concerned because the baby corals find it very hard to survive in high CO2 so reefs won't be able to repair themselves. It's very, very serious."

Our cameras capture one experiment revealing a startling disparity in the number of species between the normal CO2 area and the high CO2 vents.

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A draft UN report also warns that mass extinctions happened in the past, when CO2 levels changed more slowly than they are changing now. "The changes we're making are irreversible for tens of thousands of years," Fabricius tells me as the sun sets over the dugout canoes heading home after a day's fishing.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26746039

[Nihil]

1. "between 30-50% of coral types won't be able to cope"

> mass extinctions happened in the past, when CO2 levels changed more slowly than they are changing now.
> "The changes we're making are irreversible for tens of thousands of years,"