Samoa tsunamis obliterate some coral reefs
Scientists studying American Samoa's coral reefs announced of September 29th, that a tsunami obliterated some corals and damaged others to the point in which they may not recover. In at least one area, the damage was so severe, and the affected area already in such bad shape before the tsunamis, predict that the coral may never return. The surviving coral may suffer secondary damage weeks after the tsunamis if waves drag heavy debris from people's wave-wrecked homes for examples such as refrigerators, tin roofs and other objects across the reefs. Corals, which are colonies formed by small, fragile animals called polyps, provide vital habitats for fish, sea slugs, shrimp, sea worms and many other marine species that find food and take shelter among the reefs. This makes measuring the extent of the tsunami's damage, important for understanding the disaster's effect on the environment. Only about 15 to 20 percent of the reef had living coral before Sept. 29. The tsunami waves tore 70 percent of the remaining away.
Having these tsunami waves completely destroy Somoa's coral reefs is a environmental problem concerning many of the species that are known, and those that are not yet discovered. Many different species habitats were destroyed during this disaster. In my opinion, i think this is a terrible thing. What if one of those species that were destroyed, held a cure for some kind of illness? Unfortunately, we will never know. In the future, we should try and protect our natural reefs. They are so important in our environment, while providing an infinite number of homes for these animals.
Allie Thorndike
http://http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33358072/ns/world_news-world_environment/
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Arctic Largely Ice Free in Summer Within Ten Years?
Studies show that the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free within ten years. Reports appear that most of the region is only covered with 1-year ice rather than multiple year old ice. Scientist surveyed across the 280 miles and discovered it only consisted of thin and new ice in this past spring. The ice was only 6 feet deep when it is usually 9 feet deep. The thin ice can easily disappear with a low amount of solar energy. Wind currents and ocean currents can easily break up the ice and push it into warmer climates. The loss of the ice can cause loss of habitats and flooding of islands. The international conservation group WWF says that the ice could completely melt by the year 2030. A solution to this problem is to cut down on the ozone gases, which are depleting the ozone layer that causes global warming. Theses gases are not necessary to live a sustainable life.
This article surprised me about how soon global warming can take over this planet. 2030 is not long away and the world is going to need a lot of help to prevent this from happening. I did not like how the article did not give me all the effects of what the ice melt is doing to the ocean. I would like to know the true reasons why the ice is melting rather than basing it on my knowledge of global warming. I am excited to see what environmentalist have to say about this and what their solution is.
Lexie Redd
Kashmir's main glacier "melting at alarming speed"
Recently experts have discovered that the Kolohai glacier, the largest of Indian Kashmir’s glaciers, is melting faster then the other Himalayan glaciers. Experts have placed the blame on rising temperatures in the
The destruction of this glacier just shows the deadly effects that climate change has on us. The loss of the glacier could have a massive impact on
Ryan Cowen
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE59B35M20091012?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
The Ocean Can Slow Global Warming?
According to a report, published October 14, 2009, the ocean has the potential to significantly slow global warming. Seagrove beds, Mangrove forest, and salt marshes cover less than 1% of the wolrld sea bed. Yet, they lock away over half of all carbon trapped in the ocean floor. These sea beds are estimated to store 1,650 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. That is nearly half of the worlds transport emission, making sea beds one of the most importan and intense carbon sinks on earth. Sea beds are under threat, however. They are being lost at a rate of 7% a year. That is nearly fifteen times faster than the tropical rain forest is being depleted, yet both are equally vital to the absorbtion of Carbon. halting the destruction of the sea beds could be one of the easist ways to slow global warming. But, with 50% of the worlds population living within 65 miles of the sea. This results in lots of human pressure on near shore waters. Asian shores have lost nearly 90% of mangrove forest due to human destruction. salt Marshes and estuaries suffer a similar fate as they are cleared and destroyed for human development, and if they arent cleared the turbid water doesnt allow enough sunlight to reach the grass, thus causing the grass to die. Once again human interference is harming the environment and ourselves.
Ryan May
Ryan May
Samoa tsunamis obliterate some coral reefs!
On September 29, a horrible tsunami hit the many of the villages on the land of the American Samoa. “Tsunamis generated by an 8.3-magnitude earthquake killed at least 32 people in American Samoa. About 150 were killed in nearby Samoa and Tonga”. Not only did it destroy many homes and killed many people but it also had a huge impact on the ecosystem on the water and many organisms, such as the coral reef. The tsunami hit so rapidly that it is said that it obliterated some corals and damaged the others so bad that it is not possible that they will ever grow back. It was hard for the coral reefs to grow back with all the left over debris still roaming around the ocean from the tsunami. Many household goods are still sitting on the ocean front right by many villages and spot where coral reefs are known to be.
Coral reefs are a huge part of the ecosystem in the water. Many marine species find food and take shelter among the reefs. Action was made when a group led by Douglas Fenner, a coral reef monitoring ecologist with American Samoa's Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, has been surveying around 20 sites around the damaged territory looking for damaged and hopefully undamaged coral reefs. Some spots lost about 20 to 30% of the coral reef population.
The coral reefs were in grave danger before the tsunami even hit though. Years of pollution and sediment in the area's runoff had led to poor water quality and deprived the corals of the sunlight they needed to grow. "The reef looks like a nuclear bomb went off. It was pretty catastrophic damage," said Paul brown a marine ecologist with the National Park Service. Thankfully it has been said that coral reefs have evolved to get used to natural disasters such as tsunamis and other destructions.
I enjoyed the article a lot because we talked about coral reefs before and how they are an important part of the ecosystem. Just because the tsunami is destructive I would have never thought about what other harms it must have done than just ruin lands and people. Also we just finished the unit where we talked about evolution, and here we get to see how coral reefs evolved to protect themselves and learn to live and bounce back from natural disasters. One of my questions are that I’m surprised that there’s still debris in the ocean and why if there is any organization or volunteer groups trying to clear the garbage out of oceans where other organisms can be harmed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33358072/ns/world_news-world_environment/
Prem Patel
Coral reefs are a huge part of the ecosystem in the water. Many marine species find food and take shelter among the reefs. Action was made when a group led by Douglas Fenner, a coral reef monitoring ecologist with American Samoa's Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, has been surveying around 20 sites around the damaged territory looking for damaged and hopefully undamaged coral reefs. Some spots lost about 20 to 30% of the coral reef population.
The coral reefs were in grave danger before the tsunami even hit though. Years of pollution and sediment in the area's runoff had led to poor water quality and deprived the corals of the sunlight they needed to grow. "The reef looks like a nuclear bomb went off. It was pretty catastrophic damage," said Paul brown a marine ecologist with the National Park Service. Thankfully it has been said that coral reefs have evolved to get used to natural disasters such as tsunamis and other destructions.
I enjoyed the article a lot because we talked about coral reefs before and how they are an important part of the ecosystem. Just because the tsunami is destructive I would have never thought about what other harms it must have done than just ruin lands and people. Also we just finished the unit where we talked about evolution, and here we get to see how coral reefs evolved to protect themselves and learn to live and bounce back from natural disasters. One of my questions are that I’m surprised that there’s still debris in the ocean and why if there is any organization or volunteer groups trying to clear the garbage out of oceans where other organisms can be harmed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33358072/ns/world_news-world_environment/
Prem Patel
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Oldest human skeleton offers new clues to evolution
The oldest known hominid skeleton, Ardi,was a four foot tall female who walked upright more than 4 million years ago. She offered new clues to how humans may have evolved. Scientists believe that the fossils remains that were discovered in Ethiopia in 1994 supports belief that humans and chimpanzees evolved separately from a common ancestor. Ardi's 125-piece skeleton included the skull, teeth, pelvis, hands and feet bones. C. Owne Love Joy, an evolutionary biologist stated "In fact, what Ardipithecus tells us that we as humans have been evolving to what we are today for at least 6 million years."
Ardi's skeleton reveals she weighed about 110 pounds,had very long arms and fingers, and possessed an opposable big toe that would have helped her grasp branches while moving through trees. Her brain was believed to be the size of a chimp's but she also had many human-like features such as the ability to walk upright on two legs. Her " all -purpose type" teeth indicated that she probably ate a combination of plants, fruits and small mammals, according to scientist. Ardi's finding help challenge earlier beliefs that humans evolved from chimpanzees, their closet genetic relatives.Until now, Australopithecus,nicknamed "Lucy" was the oldest fossil studied by scientists seeking to explain evolution. Lucy is believed to have lived about 3.2 years ago.
I found this article so interesting because in class our previous lesson was about animal evolution. I think its cool that there was once a creature that had human-like features. That explains alot about us humans e.g our opposable thumbs. I would love to visit the museum that has Ardi's skeleton there and learn more about her.
Shanice Hines
Ardi's skeleton reveals she weighed about 110 pounds,had very long arms and fingers, and possessed an opposable big toe that would have helped her grasp branches while moving through trees. Her brain was believed to be the size of a chimp's but she also had many human-like features such as the ability to walk upright on two legs. Her " all -purpose type" teeth indicated that she probably ate a combination of plants, fruits and small mammals, according to scientist. Ardi's finding help challenge earlier beliefs that humans evolved from chimpanzees, their closet genetic relatives.Until now, Australopithecus,nicknamed "Lucy" was the oldest fossil studied by scientists seeking to explain evolution. Lucy is believed to have lived about 3.2 years ago.
I found this article so interesting because in class our previous lesson was about animal evolution. I think its cool that there was once a creature that had human-like features. That explains alot about us humans e.g our opposable thumbs. I would love to visit the museum that has Ardi's skeleton there and learn more about her.
Shanice Hines
El Nino
Every 3 to 8 years, there is a change in atmospheric pressure in the Pacific region. This change in pressure causes a shift in wind currents throughout the region. There are two currents, El Nino and La Nina. La Nina is the cold phase of the oscillation, and El Nino is the warm phase. This winter the U.S. is going to be greatly affected by El Nino. This could mean higher tempuratures and more precipitation throughout the winter for the western U.S.
El Nino will mostly affect the west coast, but it will have some affect on all of the U.S. Warmer tempuratures are predicted for the northern states from Montana to Wisconsin. Cooler temps are predicted for the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states such as Florida and Texas. El Nino also makes the Mid-Western states more suseptible to tornadoes. By watching the weather patterns produced by El Nino, scientist will be able to better predict all other weather patterns in the U.S.
Josh L
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/40597
El Nino will mostly affect the west coast, but it will have some affect on all of the U.S. Warmer tempuratures are predicted for the northern states from Montana to Wisconsin. Cooler temps are predicted for the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states such as Florida and Texas. El Nino also makes the Mid-Western states more suseptible to tornadoes. By watching the weather patterns produced by El Nino, scientist will be able to better predict all other weather patterns in the U.S.
Josh L
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/40597
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