Coral reef emergency: 2,600 scientists call for worldwide rescue
Coral reefs worldwide are being destroyed by changes in ocean temperature and chemistry faster than at any time since the last reef crisis 55 million years ago, thousands of marine scientists warned in a joint statement on Monday, July 9 from Cairns, Australia.
By consensus the scientists are urging a worldwide effort to overcome growing threats to coral ecosystems and to the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on them. It calls for measures to head off the escalating damage from rising sea temperatures that cause coral bleaching, ocean acidification, overfishing and pollution from the land…
(read more: Smithsonian Science)
(photo: Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst./NOAA image)
