Coral Reefs in Danger of Being Destroyed

Rising Ocean Acidity

Man-made CO2 in atmosphere

Acidity beyond threshold

Reached by year 2100

CO2 and sea water create Carbonic Acid

Organisms cannot make Calcium Carbonate Shells (Coral)

when atmospheric CO2 reaches 560mg/L

Severely Reduced Ecosystems

Less than 100 years

Increasing Temperature

Coral Bleaching

Rainforests of the Ocean

A quarter of all marine organisms

Provides food for about 500 million people worldwide

CO2 levels higher than in the last 625 000 years

Rising from fossil fuels

1/3 of CO2 since Industrial Revolution is in the ocean

Caused by carbon pollution

Colour comes from algae called Zooxanthellae

Live inside coral tissue

Provide food from photosynthesis

Algae released when coral get stressed

Leave behind colourless skeleton

Happens due to heat or pollution

Can take decades to go back to normal

Hydrosphere

Human Impact

Chemical Pollution

Agriculture

Fertilizers & Pesticides

Oil Industry

Spillage from oil tankers

Spillage from pipelines

Overfishing

Removal of Herbivores

Removal of predators

Major change to ecosystem