But, while scientists understand how these creatures capture carbon, they do not know where the carbon eventually ends up (and how long it stays there) when the phytoplankton get eaten by animals like zooplankton or die.įunded by NASA and the National Science Foundation, a multidisciplinary oceanographic campaign made up of over 100 scientists is working to better understand how creatures like phytoplankton impact Earth's climate, according to a statement. Mostly single-celled creatures, the phytoplankton play a supporting role in Earth's climate by taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis. “This emphasizes the importance of passing meaningful climate policy including finding ways to support the traditional stewards of these oceanscapes.Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that reside near the ocean's surface, where they soak up the sunshine. “The big takeaway is that found this track of reef that’s in good condition, which definitely speaks to how little we’ve done to truly map the ocean,” said Johnson, who is not involved with the research. In a special report on oceans in 2019, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded with high confidence that the impact on marine ecosystems will worsen if fossil fuel emissions continue at-pace.Įven if global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius – the ideal goal of the Paris Agreement – “coral reefs are projected to suffer significant losses of area and local extinctions,” scientists reported, noting that efforts to restore them will likely be futile at that point, given the enormous stress they are already under. Johnson’s recent research found that 60% to 87% of the world’s oceans are expected to experience devastating biological and chemical changes, including higher levels of acidity and shifts in oxygen levels by 2060, which would drastically harm the planet’s vast coral reefs. “And so we can’t just assume that because no one knew it was there, and when we found it, it was in good shape that it will continue to dodge the proverbial climate bullets.” “Just because the reef currently doesn’t show any impacts from climate change, it doesn’t mean that’s going to hold into the future,” Johnson told CNN. Though the Tahiti reef appears healthy right now, there’s still concern that the effects of climate change will reach it, said Steven Mana’oakamai Johnson, a postdoctoral research scholar and marine scientist at Arizona State University. And despite having adapted to higher heat thresholds, the study found the corals now have less time to recover between more frequent bleaching events. A 2021 study found 98% of the reef had been impacted by bleaching since 1998.
Roughly 4,000 miles west of Tahiti, off the coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef – the largest reef system in the world – has suffered several large-scale coral bleaching events over the past two decades due to extreme ocean warming. But human-caused climate change threatens these ecosystems around the globe. They are an important food source, as well as habitat, for a wide array of marine organisms. The reef exists in what's known as the ocean's "twilight zone." ProductionsĬoral reefs are crucial to Earth’s biodiversity. “So the discovery of this reef in such a pristine condition is good news and can inspire future conservation.” “We think that deeper reefs may be better protected from global warming,” said Laetitia Hédouin, a marine biologist with the French National Centre of Scientific Research and the environmental research center CRIOBE. The UNESCO team plans to study the reef more to learn how the coral has thrived for so long in the face of increasingly hostile ocean conditions, in hopes that it may hold the secret to saving endangered reefs. The rebreathers contain a special helium-based gas mixture that guards against narcosis or a state of drowsiness.īarbiere said researchers were surprised to learn that the coral was fully intact and healthy, a sign they’ve survived for decades, given large reefs take roughly 25 to 30 years to expand and flourish.
Rebreathers allow divers to go deeper into the ocean floor and stay for longer periods of time.
scuba rebreathers, which filter carbon dioxide out of exhaled air and recycle much of the unused oxygen, the dive team was able to spend about 200 hours studying the reef. A researcher swims above the reef, which stretches for nearly two miles.
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