Answers from Kantonsschule Oerlikon (2)

05. Our question:

Asked by: High School Dar es Salaam | Kantonsschule Oerlikon (2)

We found an article about coral reefs:

Climate change is expected in any case to raise water temperatures significantly. But this new research suggests that it will affect the coral in another way as well.It shows that when CO2 dissolves in seawater it makes it more acidic. And that affects the way in which the coral forms.Reefs consist of calcium carbonate, produced by tiny creatures called coral polyps.Coralline algae "glue" various corals together with compounds of calcium, and other organisms - for example tube worms and molluscs - add their skeletons to the structure.The researchers found that as the CO2 dissolves in the water, the increasing acidity it causes slows down the production of calcium carbonate. It does this by lowering the levels of essential carbonate ions in the seawater. The scientists calculate that the precipitation of calcium carbonate has already fallen by an average of between 6 and 11% since the industrial revolution.And if the atmospheric CO2 level increases to double what it was in pre-industrial times, they think the precipitation will fall by a further 8 to 17%.CO2 is the chief gas caused by human activities that is contributing to global warming.

 

In Tanzania coral reefs are well developed in many places. Now we fear for their future. What ecosystems are there in Switzerland which are going to be hit by climate change?

(no answer yet)

 

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