With climate change impacting temperatures all over the world, there has been a drastic change in the power and frequency of hurricanes. The reason for this is the warming of our oceans. The hurricanes feed off of the warm water and become stronger. If they continue to get stronger many lesser developed countries are going to have major problems recovering. And even places in the United States will feel the impact.

Satellite image of Hurricane Maria *

Puerto Rico has been hit by a couple of powerful hurricanes in the past few years. The damage has not only impacted the residents but the ecosystem as well. A new study being conducted by the University of New Hampshire found extremely high levels of nitrate in streams and watersheds.

Plants thrive on nitrate, but when too much is present, it is bad for the ecosystem as a whole. If the nitrate makes its way into the ocean, huge portions of the ecosystem of the coast, even the trees, and plants that live around the island will be hurt and can even be destroyed completely.

Much of the excess nitrate comes from fertilizers and other agricultural equipment. When the hurricanes rip through the island, runoff happens and all of the terrible chemicals from all around wash into the nearest body of water.

This terrible rampage of natural disasters caused by climate change need to be stopped as soon as possible or life on this planet will soon diminish. Continue reading →

Coral bleaching is a major issue around the world. Bleaching happens when the ocean water gets too warm for the coral. Corals are thermally sensitive, so they can only tolerate a small range of temperature. With climate change warming up our oceans, coral reefs are bleaching all over the world.

Zooxanthellae are marine algae that live inside coral and provide them with color and energy. If the temperature becomes too warm, the algae die. When the algae die, coral tissue becomes transparent, showing white coral skeleton.

Bleached coral

Healthy coral

In recent decades, the Great Barrier Reef has experienced two major bleaching events. These happened in the summers of 1998 and 2002 when, respectively, 42% and 54% of reefs were affected by bleaching. In 2005, the United States lost half of its reefs in the Caribbean because of a major bleaching event.

Bleaching is a huge step towards death in the life of coral. Without coral, there is a loss of habitat for mass amounts of sea life. While coral is being bleached and dying all throughout the Earth’s oceans, the animals that live on them are losing a home.

One of the biggest ways we can help to slow the beaching is awareness. If people learn about what is actually happening and understand how large of a problem it is, then policies can be put into place. The ocean is a huge mystery to basically all people who do not study it. Knowledge and understanding are the biggest allies to help end coral bleaching and prevent any further damage. Continue reading →