Ocean Acidification -- can you see it happening?

[DBPacific]

Here is an interesting one:
Ocean warming threatens the functioning of coral reef ecosystems by inducing mass coral bleaching and mortality events. The link between temperature and coral bleaching is now well-established based on observations that mass bleaching events usually occur when seawater temperatures are anomalously high. However, times of high heat stress but without coral bleaching are equally important because they can inform an understanding of factors that regulate temperature-induced bleaching. Here, we investigate the absence of mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) during austral summer 2004. Using four gridded sea surface temperature data products, validated with in situ temperature loggers, we demonstrate that the summer of 2004 was among the warmest summers of the satellite era (1982–2017) on the GBR. At least half of the GBR experienced temperatures that were high enough to initiate bleaching in other years, yet mass bleaching was not reported during 2004. The absence of bleaching is not fully explained by wind speed or cloud cover. Rather, 2004 is clearly differentiated from bleaching years by the slow speed of the East Australian Current (EAC) offshore of the GBR. An anomalously slow EAC during summer 2004 may have dampened the upwelling of nutrient-rich waters onto the GBR shelf, potentially mitigating bleaching due to the lower susceptibility of corals to heat stress in low-nutrient conditions. Although other factors such as irradiance or acclimatization may have played a role in the absence of mass bleaching, 2004 remains a key case study for demonstrating the dynamic nature of coral responses to marine heatwaves.
So it looks like in the case of GBR bleaching nutrient levels trump warming.

Not quite, that paper analyzed temperature data to try and find what could be the reason for temperatures that, according to past data, would be sufficient to induce bleaching. Nutrient levels weren't specifically called out or verified as a cause for the disconnect, but were discussed along with the Eastern Australian Current as possible influences based on other sources.

 

[CuzzA]

Except it isn't just the third world that has coasts. And I'd bet that guy in Montana would start caring if people from those countries try to find a new place to live in his backyard.

And exactly what do you mean by the problem being self correcting?

I was being facetious, kinda... There's too many people. If the climate changes and kills billions of people, that will reduce the amount of emissions being produced. So, self correcting.

Like I said, this globalist, capitalist dream world is unsustainable. We have an overabundance of food, hell we throw away half the food we produce and so if we just keep on spreading McDonalds and every other product to every corner of the Earth, we will eventually overrun the planet.

 

[CuzzA]

Not quite, that paper analyzed temperature data to try and find what could be the reason for temperatures that, according to past data, would be sufficient to induce bleaching. Nutrient levels weren't specifically called out or verified as a cause for the disconnect, but were discussed along with the Eastern Australian Current as possible influences based on other sources.

Yes, but they claim low nutrient levels could have played a role. That doesn't make sense.

 

[GJC]

And there are also those that believe sea level rise and acidification will not be a problem at all because all that extra acidified water will just fall off the edge of our flat earth.

 

[pauldw]

So anyway, I just want to get clear on something. Is the good news that with global warming the coral reefs will be moving up to the Florida and California coasts, so we can dive them easily instead of flying Frontier and doing a bag drag?

 

[chillyinCanada]

Not sure what's what. Piranha are now being caught by fishermen in Western Canadian inland waters.

 

[tarponchik]

Really, what was the nitrate and phosphate levels in 2004? Did you measure?

I did not say temps don't hurt coral, so I'm not sure what your point is. But here's a hypothesis. Perhaps because the current was so slow that year, the land waste was able to sit and pollute the reefs rather than be carried away. Coupled with higher temps was a recipe for disaster.

Nutrient rich water is not good for corals, despite what your quote says. It is a well known fact high ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and/or phosphate kill coral.

Looks like you completely misunderstood what their conclusion was.

 

[chillyinCanada]

"reporting bias" everywhere

 

[tursiops]

"reporting bias" everywhere

Easy solution. Ignore reporting. Go to primary sources, or at least use them for a sanity check.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Which primary sources? And how does one check those for bias?