NOAA Chief: Climate Change, “Osteoporosis of the Sea” Ravaging Coral Reefs

Most of us are aware of the looming environmental catastrophe of climate change. We're already starting to feel some of the effects, including spikes in flooding, wildfires, and record-setting temperatures. In the latest climate change news, this week marks the International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, Australia, where National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco addressed another huge problem tied to the excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere - ocean acidity.

Scientists initially believed that the extra carbon dioxide absorbed by the water would be diluted as deeper waters mixed naturally with more shallow waters. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Lubchenco explained that most of the carbon dioxide, and the chemical changes it brings, are being concentrated in surface waters.

"We've got a perfect storm of stressors from multiple places really hammering reefs around the world," Lubchenco told the Associated Press. She likened ocean acidification to osteoporosis because of the way it strips and destroys reefs.

Unsurprisingly, the high acidity levels are causing heavy disruptions in the ocean's ecosystems. One disturbing example: Lubchenco cited a study that simulated the acid levels scientists predict by the end of this century, in which clown fish actually began swimming towards predators because their sense of smell had been dulled. Oysters and other mollusks are also especially vulnerable, since acid slows the growth of their shells.

"We're just beginning to uncover many of the ways in which the changing chemistry of oceans affects lots of behaviors," Lubchenco said. "So salmon not being able to find their natal streams because their sense of smell was impaired, that's a very real possibility."

So what's to be done? You can probably guess.

"The carbon dioxide that we have put in the atmosphere will continue to be absorbed by oceans for decades," Lubchenco said, emphasizing that drastically reducing carbon emissions is the only real long-term solution. "It is going to be a long time before we can stabilize and turn around the direction of change simply because it's a big atmosphere and it's a big ocean."

Jeremy Jackson, a senior scientist emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution's Tropical Research institute, noted that the effort to protect coral reefs is not "a marine version of tree-hugging," but a dire problem for everything living on earth, including humans. Besides serving as a natural barrier against ocean storms and tsunamis, coral reefs provide food and livelihoods in tourism for millions of people. "What's good for reefs is also critically important for people," he said.