World’s coral reefs could disintegrate by 2100 (from The Guardian, via BoingBoing)
The world’s coral reefs will begin to disintegrate before the end of the century as rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere make the oceans more acidic, scientists warn.
The research points to a looming transition in the health of coral ecosystems during which the ability of reefs to grow is overwhelmed by the rate at which they are dissolving.
More than 9,000 coral reefs around the world are predicted to disintegrate when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reach 560 parts per million.
Sounds produced by vehicles, oil and gas fields and urban sprawl interfere with the way animals communicate, mate and prey on one another. The sounds are becoming so ubiquitous that they may threaten biodiversity, say the review’s authors. Even the animals living in protected National Parks in the US are being exposed to chronic levels of noise…..
Great tits (Parsus major) sing at higher frequencies in response to urban noise, so they are better able to hear each other.
But not all animals are able to adapt in this way.
Female grey tree frogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) exposed to the sounds of passing traffic take longer to locate and find calling males, while European tree frogs (Hyla arborea) call less overall. Crucially, both species appear unable to change their calling habitats to overcome the din from the roads, potentially compromising their ability to reproduce.
Noise pollution can also effect the ability of many animals such as owls and bats to find and hunt their prey.
Mafia Sank Ships of Toxic Waste
A shipwreck apparently containing toxic waste is being investigated by authorities in Italy amid claims that it was deliberately sunk by the mafia. An informant from the Calabrian mafia said the ship was one of a number he blew up as part of an illegal operation to bypass laws on toxic waste disposal. The sunken vessel has been found 30km (18 miles) off the south-west of Italy. The informant said it contained “nuclear” material. Officials said it would be tested for radioactivity…. (continues @ BBC News)
Voyage Confirms Plastic Pollution (via BBC News, Wikipedia)
Scientists have confirmed that there are millions of tonnes of plastic floating in an area of ocean known as the North Pacific Gyre. The North Pacific Gyre is a slow-moving clockwise vortex where four major ocean currents meet. Little lives there besides phytoplankton….an area estimated to be 2X larger than the US state of Texas
Pollution 'fights global warming'
A very interesting viewpoint on pollution:
Air pollution may be helping the fight against global warming by enhancing the ability of plants to absorb carbon dioxide, scientists say.
Since the 1960s, increased levels of atmospheric pollution have enhanced plant productivity by as much as one quarter, research has found.
In terms of carbon dioxide, this means that an extra 10% has been stored in the soil….
It is a common assumption that plants grow best in clear sunny weather, but scientists say this is not always the case.
Research has shown that forests and crops can also thrive in hazy conditions because clouds and particles in the atmosphere scatter sun light so that it bathes more leaves.
That enhances photosynthesis, the process by which plants turn light and carbon dioxide into food…. (continues @ BBC News)
