coral reefs

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Florida County Looking to Sink SS United States

Okaloosa County looking to purchase the ocean liner to create an artificial coral reef

(Newser) - A historic ocean liner that once ferried immigrants, Hollywood stars, and heads of state may soon find its final resting place at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, after a Florida county inked a tentative deal to turn the ship into the world's largest artificial reef, per the...

Endangered Sea Corals Get a New Home

Scientists move about 300 from South Florida to Texas' Gulf Coast

(Newser) - Scientists have moved about 300 endangered sea corals from South Florida to the Texas Gulf Coast for research and restoration, reports the AP . Nova Southeastern University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi researchers packed up the corals Wednesday at the NSU's Oceanographic Campus in Florida's Dania Beach. The...

Coral Bleaching Event Has Begun, Scientists Say

Total affected as oceans heat up increases 1% per week

(Newser) - Rising ocean temperatures have started a bleaching event that scientists say will affect more coral reefs worldwide than any of the previous three. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its international partners made the announcement Monday, the New York Times reports. "The increasing frequency and extremity of marine...

Saving Coral Reefs Could Involve a Little Sound Trickery

Coral larvae settle more often in damaged areas when sounds of healthy reef are played: study

(Newser) - Young people don't want to grow up in degraded neighborhoods devoid of the life and color that mark a healthy ecosystem. And surprise, surprise, the same goes for young coral. That's a problem because, without new life coming in, established but ailing coral reefs risk "becoming ocean...

Reef Alert System Now Considers 'Worst Case Scenario'

NOAA's Coral Reef Watch adjusts bleaching alerts as what was once 'unimaginable' turns real

(Newser) - The US government program that informs coral bleaching response plans around the world has added three new alert levels to its heat stress category system after stress on coral reefs spun off the charts. Since 2009, the NOAA's Coral Reef Watch (CRW) has issued bleaching alerts up to Level...

Biggest Deep Coral Reef Was 'Right Under Our Noses'

Enormous reef off East Coast is largest deep-sea reef ever discovered

(Newser) - Scientists have mapped the largest coral reef deep in the ocean, stretching hundreds of miles off the US Atlantic coast. While researchers have known since the 1960s that some coral were present off the Atlantic, the reef's size remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible...

Freezing Coral May Be Ticket to Saving Reefs

And researchers are looking into storing them on the moon

(Newser) - The future isn't looking great for corals as the marine invertebrates face rising ocean temperatures, disease, acidic water, and pollution. But MIT Technology Review reports that there's new hope in preserving them, which can bolster and revive future reefs. Researchers have been perfecting methods of cryopreserving coral, a...

5 Shark Species Have Seen 'Jaw-Dropping' Losses
5 Shark Species See
'Frightening' Losses
New Study
Jun 16, 2023 12:18 PM CDT

5 Shark Species See 'Frightening' Losses

A thorough survey sees some species of reef sharks have plummeted by 60% to 73%

(Newser) - In a comprehensive survey of shark and manta ray populations in nearly 400 coral reefs on Earth, scientists made an alarming discovery, reports the Washington Post : Five shark species known to call those reefs home have declined at a devastating rate of between 60% and 73% in the last 50...

Australia to UN: Don't Label Great Barrier Reef 'Endangered'

Nation's environment chief says new government is doing much better on climate change

(Newser) - Australia's environment minister said Tuesday her government will lobby against UNESCO adding the Great Barrier Reef to a list of endangered World Heritage sites, arguing that criticisms of government inaction on climate change were outdated. Officials from the UN cultural agency and the International Union for Conservation of Nature...

That Colorful Aquarium Masks a Sometimes Dark Trade

Experts say demand for fish is contributing to degradation of delicate coral ecosystems

(Newser) - Millions of saltwater fish of all shades and shapes are caught in Indonesia and other countries every year to fill ever more elaborate aquariums in living rooms, waiting rooms, and restaurants around the world. "It's just so much fun to just watch the antics between different varieties of...

Coral Rebounds to Record Levels for Great Barrier Reef

Survey finds strong growth in large swaths, but also warns of vulnerability

(Newser) - News out of the Great Barrier Reef generally has been pretty bleak of late , so much so that the UN is considering listing the World Heritage Site as endangered. However, a major new survey of the ecosystem by the Australian Institute of Marine Science has welcome news for those worried...

Mass Die-Off Hits 'Unsung Heroes' of Coral Reefs

Up to 95% of sea urchin populations are dying in areas across the Caribbean

(Newser) - For the first time in decades, scientists have observed a massive die-off of sea urchins in the Caribbean, which could serve as another devastating blow to coral reefs. Widespread deaths of at least three species of sea urchins—the West Indian sea egg, rock boring, and black sea urchins—have...

At Great Barrier Reef, a 'Heart-Breaking' Scene

4th mass bleaching event in 6 years is confirmed

(Newser) - The Great Barrier Reef, thought to have been in recovery after three mass coral bleaching events in quick succession, has been devastated for a fourth time in six years. The Marine Park Authority has confirmed a new mass bleaching event through aerial surveys of 750 separate reefs across the 1,...

In Huge Report on World's Coral Reefs, Reason to Shudder

There was a 14% die-off over a decade

(Newser) - An expansive new report on the state of the planet's coral reefs contains reason to shudder. It found that in the 10 years starting in 2009, about 14% of the world's coral reefs were lost, the New York Times reports. Report editor David Obura puts that in perspective:...

Lethal Coral Disease Linked to Cruise Ships
Lethal Coral Disease
Linked to Cruise Ships
new study
Jul 22, 2021 2:37 PM CDT

Lethal Coral Disease Linked to Cruise Ships

Study suggests wastewater from ships is responsible for SCTLD

(Newser) - A dangerous new threat to coral reefs might be the fault of cruise ships. A peer-reviewed study suggests ships that improperly dispose of wastewater are causing outbreaks of an unusually lethal and fast-spreading disease known as stony coral tissue loss disease, reports the Guardian . SCTLD first turned up in Florida...

There Hasn't Been an Ocean Find Like This in 120 Years
There Hasn't Been an Ocean
Find Like This in 120 Years
in case you missed it
Nov 1, 2020 1:30 PM CST

There Hasn't Been an Ocean Find Like This in 120 Years

Huge section of coral reef found at Great Barrier Reef is taller than Empire State Building

(Newser) - During the past year, the Schmidt Ocean Institute's Falkor ship has been trolling the waters off the coast of Australia, where it's found dozens of new species, including what may be the longest animal on Earth . Its latest surprise discovery is no less impressive: a section of coral...

New Seaweed Species Is Smothering Reefs

'Tumbleweed' algae is covering remote Hawaii reefs

(Newser) - Researchers say a recently discovered species of seaweed is killing large patches of coral on once-pristine reefs and is rapidly spreading across one of the most remote and protected ocean environments on earth. A study from the University of Hawaii and others says the seaweed is spreading more rapidly than...

Bleaching Hits Great Barrier Reef Like Never Before

With warmer temperatures, deadly problem is 'more widespread than ever'

(Newser) - An aerial survey of the Great Barrier Reef shows coral bleaching is sweeping across the area off the east of Australia for the third time in five years. Bleaching has struck all three regions of the world’s largest coral reef system and is more widespread than ever, scientists from...

Study on Our Coral Reefs: 'Honestly, Most Sites Are Out'
Coral Reefs in the Red Sea?
That May Be All That's Left
in case you missed it
Feb 22, 2020 7:00 AM CST

Coral Reefs in the Red Sea? That May Be All That's Left

Things aren't looking good by 2100, according to new simulations

(Newser) - "Honestly, most sites are out." That's the grim pronouncement from a University of Hawaii at Manoa researcher who looked at the likely status of the planet's coral reefs by 2100 based on projected climate conditions. Renee Setter and her team discovered that small areas of Baja...

'First-in-the-World Law' Could Affect Your Hawaiian Vacation

Proposed ban on certain sunscreens aims to protect state's coral reefs

(Newser) - Hawaii looks poised to become a world leader in the fight to protect coral reefs with a move that could leave sunscreen brands feeling the heat. A bill banning non-prescription sunscreens containing two chemicals believed to cause coral bleaching easily passed Hawaii's legislature Tuesday—there were just four votes...

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