[Coral-List] Struggling with ocean optimism

[Dennis Hubbard]

Following a different thread than Steve's and Nancy's (just using it as a
"reply to"), does anyone have a good reference that lays out the
calculations for how much sediment would dissolve at the sediment/water
interface in a square meter of lagoon/reef surface per year in today's
conditions (in kg/m2-yr)? Similarly, does anyone know of a paper that looks
at this from the standpoint of a column of sediment (i.e., considering the
volume beneath that square meter surface) in which we'd have to know the
total surface area of those grains in that cubic meter plus something about
the permeability and any pumping mechanisms available (wave action comes to
mind)?

There have been papers that experimentally put pterapod shells and similar
grains into an acidic bath and tracked their dissolution rate. However,
this is quite different than already-deposited sediment sitting either
within the lagoon (a protected and generally quite thick accumulation),
within the reef edifice (muddier and less exposed to surface conditions and
possibly in a more reducing environment) or a channel on the forereef
(probably a smaller volume of sediment and a lot more wave pumping than in
the protected lagoon or inside the reef)?

There have been a number of interesting posts on sediment dissolution, but
the projected rates have varied significantly with no calculations to give
a sense of how these rates were computed/estimated. As has been noted, this
could potentially be an underappreciated element of carbonate cycling in
reefs, but the variability in opinion suggests that we have a ways to go to
estimate it's quantitative(or even qualitative) importance with
anyconfidence. I'd like to try an at-least back-of-the-envelope solution
but am not sure where to start.

Dennis

On Fri, Mar 2, 2018 at 8:50 AM, Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net> wrote:

>
>
>
> “This is not to diminish the enormous problems the ocean and coral reefs
> particularly face (they really are the canary in the environmental coal
> mine), but we need to do a better job of talking about solutions,
> particularly solutions that are being implemented and are now working”.
>
> Thanks for responding Nancy.
> I get it that all the negativity can be overwhelming at times, but here’s
> my concern.
> From what I can gather there’s not much going well for coral reefs these
> days. I certainly don’t see anything resembling a true solution being
> implemented unless you concede that natural coral reefs, as we have known
> them, are a thing of the past. It is my view that our only hope is to move
> more aggressively on the threats involved, including climate change. Maybe
> it is too late, but considering present conditions, we certainly can not
> continue to ignore the threats. Your article “Ocean Optimism” appeared in a
> dive industry periodical. How can we expect the dive industry to be part of
> any solution if it continues to avoid a narrative that clearly identifies
> the central problem and solutions involved? Of course, we should talk about
> positive developments too and I appreciate you pointing out a number of
> significant successes. They are real and meaningful, but meanwhile the
> canaries in the coal mine you alluded to continue to die off. This can’t
> possibly be reversed if we refuse to be candid and direct. I don’t see this
> as pessimism or doom and gloom, but as realism worth fighting for.
>
> Regards,
> Steve
>
>
>
>
> Sent from EarthLink Mobile mail
> On 3/1/18, 7:00 PM, Nancy Knowlton <knowltonn at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: Nancy Knowlton <knowltonn at gmail.com>
> To: Paul Muir <paul.muir at qm.qld.gov.au>
> Cc: Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net>, coral list <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Struggling with ocean optimism
> Date: March 1, 2018 at 7:00:15 PM EST
> As one of the people behind #OceanOptimism (and now #EarthOptimism) I
> encourage people to use these hashtags to highlight and find examples of
> things that are moving in the right direction. I have to say that I have
> been continually amazed by the number of marine conservation professionals
> who are unaware of the successes that have been achieved, even in their own
> areas of expertise. I also regularly meet students who tell me that they
> almost gave up on conservation as a profession because it was so
> depressing. This is not to diminish the enormous problems the ocean and
> coral reefs particularly face (they really are the canary in the
> environmental coal mine), but we need to do a better job of talking about
> solutions, particularly solutions that are being implemented and are now
> working. I also find that talking about success often diffuses partisan
> arguments about policy.
>
> A recent analysis relevant to this discussion is a great article on
> recovery of shark populations by David Shiffman http://www.
> southernfriedscience.com/have-you-heard-the-good-news-about-
> shark-populations-shark-population-increases-are-cause-for-oceanoptimism/
>
> Cheers, Nancy Knowlton
>
> On Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 5:34 PM, Paul Muir <paul.muir at qm.qld.gov.au>
> wrote:
> In terms of reef optimism the joke: 'don't worry it will all be ok in
> 50000 years!' works for me. I use this quite a a bit on the dive deck after
> seeing yet another heavily bleached reef or revisiting a once perfect reef
> that has been heavily degraded. It sounds a bit trite but it does put
> things into some sort of perspective.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On 27 Feb 2018, at 4:49 am, "Steve Mussman" <sealab at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> Dear Listers,
> Coming from the perspective of someone involved for many years in the
> diving industry, I am struggling with the concept of ocean optimism and
> would like some feedback from you, the experts on coral reef ecology. I
> understand that tourism is an important economic driver in many tropical
> regions around the world and that too much doom and gloom is bad for
> business, but it seems to me that for far too long the major threats to
> coral reefs have been downplayed industry-wide and that this approach has
> therefore unwittingly contributed to decades of inaction. How can we hope
> to work towards real-world solutions if we can’t bring ourselves to
> openly discuss policy positions that could effectively address the
> fundamental problems involved? Most recently, I have come across two
> excellent, thoughtful and well written articles that reflect the position
> of the diving industry on the current state of our oceans and coral reefs
> in particular. Please consider reading these articles and providing any
> commentary you consider appropriate.
>
> http://www.alertdiver.com/Northern_GBR
>
> http://www.alertdiver.com/Ocean_Optimism
>
> Regards,
> Steve Mussman
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
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-- 
Dennis Hubbard
Chair, Dept of Geology-Oberlin College Oberlin OH 44074
(440) 775-8346

* "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong stop"*
 Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"