paired with my love for the ocean and the beauty of its vast biodiversity, my academic path in ecology has primed me for the discussions at cop27 surrounding the detrimental impact of climate change on marine life. i strongly believe that the combined efforts of scientific and legislative expertise are imperative in not only achieving the un’s net zero goals but other important environmental issues as well.

discussing ocean ecology at cop27

coral reefs are central to hosting thousands of important marine species that uphold our biosphere and providing a wide variety of crucial ecosystem services. many serve as a pillar of income and benefit to the economy for nations that rely on these ecosystems for ecotourism.

however, these reefs are especially under threat by ocean acidification, caused by anthropogenic activities like the agricultural industry and increased greenhouse gas emissions.

ocean acidification is a ubiquitous and burgeoning problem that plagues our world’s oceans, and efficient action is needed immediately to mitigate its impact and spread. the multifaceted means by which we take action must be elevated as a priority, therefore i strongly believe in the vast potential of taking on an interdisciplinary approach toward addressing ocean acidification and its impacts on coastal communities and ecosystems.

i had the privilege and opportunity to attend a panel discussion called “oa action plans: increasing ambition for climate action & transforming planning and response to climate-ocean change” at the ocean pavilion during my first day at cop27. this event was composed of government leaders and organizations from around the world who have been committing their efforts to the protection of coastal communities, livelihoods, and species from ocean acidification and other climate-related issues.

three speakers stood out to me in particular: ambassador ilana seid, the permanent representative to un palau, arthur tuda, ph.d., the executive director of the western indian ocean marine science association, and congressman eduardo murat from the general congress of the united mexican states.

ambassador seid discussed the significant strides taken by researchers from stanford university and the university of hawaii within the collaborative space of science in the protection of marine biodiversity. one innovation that i found to be especially interesting was the development of ocean antacid tablets to mitigate the effects of ocean acidification and thus help prevent food shortages for reliant coastal communities and during biological catastrophes.

tuda, another panelist from the scientific side of the conversation, highlighted the collective findings of a new report – a culmination of four years of monitoring across six countries – on ocean acidification in the western indian ocean region.

the key takeaway of this report is the importance of regional collaboration between nations, scientists around the world, and the combined scientific knowledge and resources that facilitate humanity’s progress in understanding climate change. on the other side of the panel, congressman murat provided expertise through a legislative lens.

murat is seeking to collaborate with other legislators and eventually pass a bill on ocean acidification consisting of provisions that define the problem itself and gather programs to map, monitor, and manage blue carbon areas – marine and coastal ecosystems that absorb and store carbon – to strengthen future legislation in mexico. moreover, this bill seeks to reinforce legislation on the source of the problem, targeting agricultural and livestock runoff.

sharing and expanding our knowledge

after hearing both sides of the conversation, i wondered, how can we maintain a fair balance between different voices and disciplines in reaching solutions? this panel discussion further strengthened my desire to examine environmental issues through multiple lenses.

moving forward, we must continue to press forward in our fight against climate change through the implementation and advancement of multilateral-based solutions. although science and policy are seemingly very different realms of expertise, i was able to witness the vast potential for these fields to work in tandem to enact tangible change and solutions in a multi-layered crisis. it is imperative to step outside of our comfort zones and look for answers to our world’s most pressing environmental issues that stretch beyond our own boundaries of knowledge.

with that in mind, i encourage all students of non-environmental majors and backgrounds to engage in opportunities like the cop fellowship, to not only engage with the real world but to also gain exposure to the diverse mindsets and perspectives that make up this conference. more than ever before, we need the integration of different disciplines, backgrounds, and ideas into our global negotiations and solutions.

this story was featured in our series, slipping through our fingers: the future of water.

i asked my best friend, who lives on the island of st. croix if she knew about what was in the water in cane bay. “those are coral reef nurseries,” she said. my friend suggested that i speak with kemit-amon lewis, one of the marine scientists working on the coral reef nurseries in st. croix. these are places where marine scientists rehabilitate salvaged corals to later be transplanted back into wild colonies.

i talked with lewis about coral reefs and the coral bleaching that is taking place due to rising water temperatures, and he had some very valuable information about coral reef bleaching events. in these events, increased water temperature stresses out corals and causes them to turn white and appear bleached. when corals go through a bleaching event, they are at a great risk of death unless water temperatures go down. 

lewis is the development director at the perry institute for marine science. his role within the perry institute is to explore strategic partnerships and, otherwise, support ocean conservation work in the bahamas and some other caribbean islands. lewis has been working on reefs since 2010 and is involved in many programs to help the coral reefs including, bleachwatch citizen science program, the “reef responsible” sustainable seafood campaign, and padi coral nursery and restoration specialty diver course. 

after a near-death experience in 2019 from an unknown bacterium, resulting in septic shock, and suffering multiple amputations, lewis has brought special attention to reef recovery programs and has lectured about his journey after losing his limbs. he is a personal inspiration to me, as he is still a scuba diver and photographer of the ocean. 

lewis talked about his memories of the virgin islands’ beautiful waters and reefs and how the local public-school marine biology program introduced him to marine science as a child. he also has many fond memories of his family’s time spent on the west shore where he learned how to snorkel. he said that the first time that he saw a coral bleaching event was in the virgin islands in 2010. there were large areas of bleaching, but temperatures did not persist for a longer period. 

“some of the corals paled instead of bleached,” he said. “a lot of corals appeared able to rebound from that bleaching event and not be completely lost. this is excellent news that the corals rebounded after a bleaching event, which proves that coral can rebound and become healthy again.” 

coral reefs have been going through coral degradation for 40 years, caused by anthropogenic activities that have warmed the ocean due to increased greenhouse gasses. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa) has been monitoring bleaching events using satellites for over 20 years and has collected extensive data showing that a coral reef can recover many times after bleaching takes place. 

some of what has helped coral reefs recover are marine sanctuaries. these are protected waters that include habitats such as coral reefs and are important in sheltering the coral reefs from such things as over-fishing and damage by collisions with passing boats. regarding the use of marine sanctuaries to conserve the coral reefs and sea life, lewis said, “they can be very successful if properly managed, to protect the coral reefs.” he continued, “they help to ensure there is no overfishing and [contribute to the] protection of reefs.”  

coral bleaching is not a phenomenon unique to the virgin islands. it is happening across the equatorial world. i have a friend, melissa drapeau, who lives in honduras, whom i have known for many years. like me, she was also a suny-esf student studying biology and has been an avid diver for 30 years. she said she has observed coral bleaching gradually grow worse over the last couple of decades. 

 “[it went] from a single coral that was bleached out, and one that was obviously ill for some reason, to it being patches of coral and then being more widespread areas and then now seeing a lot of that,” drapeau said. “whether it is bands on the coral where half the coral appears alive, and half of it is bleached out.”  

honduras has a program called the coral reef alliance, which has made great strides in protecting the coral reefs, focusing on clean water, healthy fisheries, and habitat protection. this program along with several other factors have helped honduras to have some of the healthiest coral reefs in the caribbean.  

there are several things that we can do to help protect the beauty of the ocean and the coral reefs, which include using reef-safe sunscreen, not using single-use plastics, recycling and properly disposing of trash. additionally, lewis had some solid advice for scuba divers and anyone exploring the ocean, “[be] mindful of not touching stuff… i know it’s our nature as human beings to be inquisitive and to pick up random stuff, however, just observe them,” lewis said. “our eyes are there for a reason. take pictures and leave bubbles.”

the world has lost 50% of its coral reefs in the past 30 years as oceans have warmed and acidified. climate change drives these changing ocean conditions, which lead to coral disease and bleaching.

onda design is one company working to counteract this trend by developing technology for coral restoration and rehabilitation.

daniel hills-bunnell and peter lowe, two bay area-based engineers, are working remotely on this project. the company, which was founded last year and has received funding from the nature conservancy, is planning to move its operations to florida where offshore reefs are bleaching and dying. 

“we both came to the space of coral restoration from a call for proposals from the nature conservancy about a year ago, and we have been working on developing a high throughput coral farming in on-shore nurseries,” hills-bunnell said.

onda’s strategy, a process called micro-fragmentation, involves taking small pieces of living coral and allowing them to reproduce asexually in on-shore nurseries. once the coral has grown for about six months, the team transplants the coral back into the ocean, where it can fuse with preexisting reefs and continue to grow.

by using small pieces, or micro-fragments, of coral in the nurseries, hills-bunnell said the coral can grow up to 40 times faster than it can in nature. these corals also tend to be more resilient because the team selects samples that have survived bleaching events.

lowe said this rehabilitation is particularly important because of the important role coral reefs play in their ecosystems.

“when you have a barrier reef out beyond the shoreline, it can mitigate 97% of wave energy,” lowe said. “if you have a big storm event, you have huge waves coming in, and that will destroy all the property on the land close to the shoreline.”

partnering with investors who want to prevent coastal erosion and damage is one way onda hopes to fund its projects, hills-bunnell said. these groups could include hotel companies or local governments in coastal areas.

even with the proper funding, though, rehabilitating the world’s coral reefs is a tall order, especially because much of the technology onda is using operates on a small scale or is not even fully developed yet.

“currently what we’re doing is handling individual coral using practices largely borrowed from the aquarium hobby,” lowe said. “if you think about trying to terraform a planet using that technique, essentially, it doesn’t work.”

both hills-bunnell and lowe are working on developing and scaling up this early-stage technology as engineers on the project.

hills-bunnell said individuals can get involved in coral restoration by contributing financially to projects, raising awareness and pursuing careers in the field.

“there’s a lot of different ways you can start to contribute to this ecosystem rehabilitation, and it’s very urgent,” hills-bunnell said. “these ecosystems touch pretty much every facet of life.”

in this video essay, against a backdrop of coral reefs and mangrove forests, planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 kaitlyn copland reflects on her coastal upbringing and connects it to the importance of ocean conservation and education.

you’re standing on a beach, while gentle waves lap against the sand. if you look into the water, you can see hermit crabs munching away on algae. the smell of seawater wafts through your nose. warm sunlight streams down, filtering through the geometric glass walls and ceiling. outside, you can see the sonoran desert and the santa catalina mountains in the distance. 

you’re not standing at sea level but at an elevation of over 4,000 feet. you’re inside a former space colony experiment that’s now an earth systems research center.

welcome to the biosphere 2 ocean.

the university of arizona’s biosphere 2 is a unique facility where marine biologists, atmospheric scientists, biogeographers and other scientists conduct large-scale experiments. katie morgan, manager of marine systems at biosphere 2, is currently preparing the ocean for some new accessories. morgan points out the $3 million worth of lights to hang over the surface, which she explains will be critical for helping corals grow under glass that blocks out uva and uvb light. 

biosphere 2 has a long history of groundbreaking research in the public eye. the biosphere 2 ocean provides an opportunity for visitors to see marine science in action, no sea legs required. i was fortunate to have the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes tour from morgan. here are 5 fascinating facts about the biosphere 2 ocean that are sure to amaze:

1. it’s the biggest research tank in the world, morgan said. filled with 2.6 million liters of saltwater, it’s just a tad bigger than an olympic swimming pool. unfortunately, morgan explained that visitors are not allowed to swim in the ocean, so michael phelps will need to find another place to practice. the biosphere 2 ocean mimics the shape of the ocean floor with a beach that drops off until a reef crest rises up to break the waves, followed by a drop down to a deeper ocean beyond. 

2. the deeper end of the ocean plunges 7 meters, or just over 21 feet—that’s deep enough to cliff-dive into. a tall cliff rises on the edge of the ocean, allowing a bird’s-eye view of the simulated sea. assistant research professor joost van haren, who has worked at biosphere 2 for decades, shared an anecdote about the lives of the original inhabitants of the facility. when biosphere 2 was created as a prototype habitat for humans on mars, the biospherians who lived inside the experiment between 1991 and 1993 didn’t just do research all day. they were able to cliff-dive safely into the water. talk about a fun lunch break! 

3. so where did those 700,000 gallons of water come from? the original researchers knew that to create a true ocean system, they needed all the features of ocean water. these include minerals and microorganisms that turn saltwater into seawater. rather than trying to replicate true ocean water, morgan explained that the creators of biosphere 2 decided to bring 100,000 gallons of seawater from san diego to the facility, carried in milk trucks across the desert.

4. in the late ’90s, columbia university conducted climate change experiments within biosphere 2. according to morgan, columbia scientists knew that with rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere would come rising acidity in the oceans. they wondered how high acidity would affect a coral reef system, so they raised the acidity of the ocean to mimic a future atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of 420 ppm. as a result, corals grew less and underwent a bleaching event, losing their colorful symbiotic algae and starving to death. with the data collected, the researchers predicted that future ocean acidification in the real ocean would cause a 40 percent decrease in coral growth between 1880 to 2065. this was one of the first studies on ocean acidification, a defining issue threatening oceans today.

5. morgan is well aware that ocean acidification is not the only threat facing corals. oceans absorb not only carbon dioxide, but also heat. this function is critical for the health of our planet: it is our oceans that keep air temperatures steady and livable. as global temperatures rise, oceans endure the brunt of it. high water temperatures are hard on corals. morgan likened long heat waves in the ocean to human illness: “if you have a 102-degree fever for two days, you recover. if you have a fever for two weeks, you die.” equipped with a heat exchange system, the ocean can simulate these heat waves. water run through the system is heated or cooled, and then returned to the research tank. according to morgan, the entirety of the 700,000-gallon ocean can be moved through the heat exchange system in 24 hours, enabling groundbreaking research on how heat waves affect corals and what humans can do to save them.

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with 50 international partners, the research team at the biosphere 2 ocean will continue doing critical work. keep an eye out in the news for the iconic glass structure because there’s no doubt that biosphere 2 is going to be making headlines again.

while the florida keys government and environmental groups are bracing for sea level rise, what do residents think? this podcast episode examines residents’ opinions on sea level rise and the most concerning environmental issues facing the keys.

most people i spoke to acknowledge that sea level rise is an issue, but it isn’t their main concern. instead, they are most worried about protecting the reefs and reducing consumption of single-use plastics. one man says he doesn’t believe oceans are rising.

younger generations will likely be more directly affected by changes due to sea level rise. high school senior jillian duclo says she is already noticing the effects of rising oceans. hear from her and others in this final episode.

the first podcast episode in this series covers what sea level rise looks like in the keys. in the second episode, hear about the economic impacts of sea level rise in the keys. 

these changes in the natural variations of the reefs’ environments have caused a phenomenon known as coral bleaching, which is devastating to reefs. coral bleaching causes a reduction in photosynthetic pigment concentrations, which results in the destruction of major reef tracts and the extinction of many coral species. both the frequency and extent of coral bleaching worldwide has seen a rapid increase in the past 20 years. more directly, overfishing and careless tourism are also destroying our oceans corals. earlier this year, we saw the trending #10yearchallenge which many ocean activists such as photographer jim abernethy took as an opportunity to post on social media and reveal the extreme deterioration that has taken place in our oceans over the last 10 years.

why should you care?

we need coral reefs, however, corals are stressed and, more recently, facing risk of extinction. coral reefs sustain and protect the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, they provide medicine, protect coastal communities, serve as a nursery for a quarter of the world’s fish and 8 million species, drive tourism and support jobs for millions of people around the world. the great barrier reef in australia alone for example generates more than $1.5 billion every year from various industries including fishing and tourism. while individual corals build reefs over thousands of years, environmental stressors and physical damage can destroy a reef in less than a decade, leading to devastating and irreversible effects.

coral nurseries: what are they and how can they help?

the health, management and conservation of coral reefs, is a fundamental issue currently facing humanity, presenting a real challenge to sustainability. historically, coral conservationists have focused their efforts on protecting these invaluable marine resources from direct environmental threats. while these efforts continue, researchers are now also looking at ways to tackle coral reef restoration more proactively. conservationists have developed a technique to grow corals in nurseries and repopulate damaged reefs. coral “nurseries” nurture small, found pieces of coral on underwater structures, as seen in the picture below, until they can be replanted on existing reefs, stimulating recovery of these ecosystems. the slow growth rate of corals makes recovery from mass death events, such as bleaching or disease, challenging, but, in low stress environments of a nursery, conservationists can grow corals much faster, giving the reefs a fighting chance. most importantly perhaps, coral nurseries allow conservationists to manage the diversity coral populations. fostering diversity among corals means the overall population will be more resilient to changes in its environment, such as warming ocean waters.

one group that has made significant progress through coral nurseries is the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa). in the waters around florida, puerto rico, and the u.s. virgin islands, noaa works with a number of partners in various capacities to maintain 27 coral nurseries. these underwater safe havens serve a dual function; not only do they provide a stable environment for injured corals to recuperate, but they also produce thousands of healthy young corals, ready to be transplanted into previously devastated areas.

in most cases, unhealthy corals are first taken to a lab where they are nurtured before being translated to coral nurseries in the ocean, however, hawaii’s division of aquatic resources recently established a small-scale pilot coral nursery to test a new technique on the east coast of oahu in kaneohe bay. the project aims to determine the effectiveness of in situ, or “in-the-field,” coral nurseries, here, the damaged coral fragments are directly translated to coral nurseries in the ocean where the environment can not be artificially manipulated.

looking toward the future: where does this leave us?

every year, the noaa alone reintroduces over 2000 healthy corals back to the sea floor. in the image below we can see a growing and thriving transplanted elkhorn coral that was re-introduced near vega baja in puerto rico. the first image on the left was taken in 2009 when the coral was first re-introduced to the ocean, the middle image was taken in 2010 and the final one on the right in 2014. this image shows the increased speed by which corals that have been in coral nurseries grow in comparison to wild corals and also demonstrates how quickly reef ecosystems can form around healthy corals as between the 5 years we can already see more life on the ocean floor around the coral.

even though coral nurseries started out as a way to rebuild reefs that had been damaged, the vast investment they have received has allowed them to grow beyond their initial aims. today, researchers are looking for ways to actively build the resilience of corals through coral nurseries in the ocean and in the lab. scientists want to know what factors allow corals to adapt to a changing climate and how they might intervene to help the corals. if achieved, this can create a solution to the changing ocean temperatures in the future and protect other corals from the death they are currently facing.

although much progress has been done but groups such as the european union, the united nations, international maritime organization and many others to implement stricter laws and regulations to protect our oceans, coral nurseries are still not widely known about or implement even though they provide a relatively low scale and affordable solution. it is extremely important to protect our oceans from further damage but coral nurseries provide us with the tools to also restore corals that have already been damaged and we must take advantage of this opportunity.

both local groups and governments alike are starting to recognize this pressing issue. some groups are attempting to grow coral in offsite nurseries in hopes of replanting and salvaging coral populations and some governments are also recognizing the gravity of this situation and passing protective legislation.

but to protect the world’s reefs, action needs to be taken by everyone. the world needs to collectively work limit carbon footprints and work to reduce the impact humans are having on the earth — this is how we will save the coral and this is how we will save our world.

— holly goldberg and hayley walker / george washington university