[Coral-List] Good News from Australia

Mon Dec 22 11:28:26 EST 2008

I would add to your list of reasons pumping deep cool water up to save coral reefs wouldn't work: coral bleaching may not be due to heat but rather too muck light, or some component thereof. In a survey of Tortola (BVI) reefs in 2005 I found deeper, cooler coral bleached nearly as much as shllow ones, yet Siderastrea on rocks in Hans Creek, which was warmer than the reefs but shaded by mangroves, had full color. Plus the bleaching was a rather sudden event following a period of solar forcing in October. At the same time, corals in more turbid water, SE Florida (Ft. Lauderdale) were hardly affected, and the spottiness of the bleachjing event regionally may be due to clouds. 

--- On Sun, 12/21/08, James Cervino PhD. <jcervino at whoi.edu> wrote:

From: James Cervino PhD. <jcervino at whoi.edu>
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Good News from Australia
To: "Dokken, Dr. Quenton" <qdokken at gulfmex.org>
Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov, "'Gene Shinn'" <eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
Date: Sunday, December 21, 2008, 3:12 PM

Dr Quenton- Brings up serious flaws in the way in which how information is
interpreted by the masses. Here is another example of how political leaders,
journalists and the masses think that corals can be saved by a company thereby
implementing a "cooling system" New Scientist" 2008, to protect
and save reefs!

The Cooling System
An idea by Atmocean Inc.  has developed a simple pumping system for bringing
cool, deep water up to the surface. They claim that we could use pumps could
cool reefs by bringing up deep water, using only wave power.

This is an example of the insanity, where they claim that it would be feasible
to implement a pump that brings Cool Deep Nutrient Rich Waters to the surface
thereby cooling reef off which will prevent them from overheating.

What about the pH shifts?  This crazy idea would speed up the acidic conditions
and surely kill the corals and their symbioants. Corals do not have the
cellular mechanics or " on off switches" to deal with the above water
chemistry.

This theory would bring up:

Low pH (more acidic)
Low O2
High Hydrogen Sulfide

*************************************
Dr. James M. Cervino
Pace University &
Visiting Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst.
Department of Marine Chemistry
Woods Hole MA.
NYC Address: 9-22 119st
College Point NY NY 11356
Cell: 917-620*5287
************************************

Quoting "Dokken, Dr. Quenton" <qdokken at gulfmex.org>:

* This line of discussion highlights one of the great failures and challenges
* of science today - the ability to accurately get science into the
public's
* awareness and understanding.  Journalists, lawyers, courts, vested
* interests, etc have distorted fact to support a position or advance a
* financial interest.  Scientists as a rule are not geared to working outside
* of peer reviewed literature.  The reality is that peered reviewed science is
* not driving society - spin masters are.  Just tune your TV to any political
* talking head program to see reality driven by opinion/ideology and not fact.
* We in science should be finding ways to work together to support scientific
* reality based on fact rather than biased interpretation. I believe that if
* scientists can get their act together, there are many that are ready to
* follow.
*
* Quenton Dokken, Ph.D.
* Executive Director
* Gulf of Mexico Foundation, Inc.
* PMB 51  5403 Everhart Rd.
* Corpus Christi, TX 78411
*
* 361-882-3939
* 361-442-6064 cell
*
* qdokken at gulfmex.org
* www.gulfmex.org
*
*
*
* -----Original Message-----
* From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
* [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Billy Causey
* Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 11:32 AM
* To: Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
* Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; Gene Shinn
* Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Good News from Australia
*
* Ove ....
* Your research and peer-reviewed science speaks for itself.  We are half
* a world apart, yet your observations have been as relevant for the Wider
* Caribbean, as they are for the Western Pacific.  The only difference is
* that our problems started about 10-12 years in advance of your's.  But
* now ... we are all suffering the sames woes.    Keep up the great work
* ...... and I am confident that you will not let postings like this one
* distract you from your research.  Billy
*
* Ove Hoegh-Guldberg wrote:
* > Thank you Gene.
* >
* > Now that you have dredged this up, I feel it is important to let the
* > readership know, needless to say, that the column is full of misquotes
* > and inaccuracies.  Perhaps not surprising given that the columnist
* > (Andrew Bolt) is well-known for his endless 'opinions', poor
* > understanding and disregard for the truth.  In this respect, he claims
* > that there is no science (none at all!) behind global climate change,
* > nor truth in the fact that Australian aboriginal people were mistreated
* > in recent history (this is despite many victims still being alive
* > today).  With respect to his disregard for the truth - Andrew has been
* > successfully sued for defamation and other inaccuracies
* > (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Bolt). What more can I say?
* >
* > This source is neither accurate nor science-based, and perhaps should
* > not have appeared on coral list.
* >
* > Regards,
* >
* > Ove
* >
* > Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
* >
* > Smart State Premier's Fellow (2008-2013), Director, Stanford
Australia;
* > Reviewing Editor at Science Magazine, and Deputy Director, ARC Centre
* > for Excellence in Coral Reef Studies; BLOG: www.climateshifts.org
* >
* >
* > -----Original Message-----
* > From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
* > [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Gene Shinn
* > Sent: Saturday, 20 December 2008 12:28 AM
* > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
* > Subject: [Coral-List] Good News from Australia
* >
* > Good News from the Melbourne Australia Herald Sun. "PROFESSOR Ove
* > Hoegh-Guldberg, of Queensland University, is Australia's most quoted
* > reef expert.
* > He's advised business, green and government groups, and won our rich
* > Eureka Prize for scares about our reef. He's chaired a $20 million
* > global warming study of the World Bank.
* > In 1999, Hoegh-Guldberg warned that the Great Barrier Reef was under
* > pressure from global warming, and much of it had turned white.
* > In fact, he later admitted the reef had made a "surprising"
recovery.
* > In 2006, he warned high temperatures meant "between 30 and 40 per
* > cent of coral on Queensland's great Barrier Reef could die within a
* > month".
* > In fact, he later admitted this bleaching had "a minimal
impact".
* > In 2007, he warned that temperature changes of the kind caused by
* > global warming were again bleaching the reef.
* > In fact, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network last week said
* > there had been no big damage to the reef caused by climate change in
* > the four years since its last report, and veteran diver Ben Cropp
* > said this week that in 50 years he'd seen none at all."  Gene
* >
* >
*
* --
* Billy D. Causey, Ph.D., Regional Director
* Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Region
* National Marine Sanctuary Program
* 33 East Quay Road
* Key West, Florida 33040
*
* 305.809.4670 (ex 234)
* 305.395.0150 (cell)
* 305.293.5011 (fax)
*
* Billy.Causey at noaa.gov
*
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