http://apps.seattletimes.com/reports/sea-change/2013/sep/11/pacific-ocean-perilous-turn-overview/
This incredible multi-media report, with links to scientific studies, should be read by all. DV
Story by Craig Welch
Photographs by Steve Ringman
“Sea Change” was produced, in part, with funding from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Robert B. Jacksona,b,1, Avner Vengosha, Thomas H. Darraha, Nathaniel R. Warnera, Adrian Downa,b, Robert J. Poredac,
Stephen G. Osbornd, Kaiguang Zhaoa,b, and Jonathan D. Karra,b
aDivision of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment and
bCenter on Global Change, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
cDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627; and
dGeological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768
Edited by Susan E. Trumbore, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany, and approved June 3, 2013 (received for review December 17, 2012)
Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are transforming energy production, but their potential environmental effects remain controversial. We analyzed 141 drinking waterwells across the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province of northeastern Pennsylvania, examining natural gas concentrations and isotopic signatures with proximity to shale gas wells. Methane was detected in 82% of drinking water samples, with average concentrations six times higher for homes <1 km from natural gas wells (P = 0.0006). Ethane was 23 times higher in homes <1 km from gas wells (P =0.0013); propane was detected in 10 water wells, all within approximately 1 km distance (P = 0.01). Of three factors previously proposed to influence gas concentrations in shallow groundwater (distances to gas wells, valley bottoms, and the Appalachian Structural Front, a proxy for tectonic deformation), distance to gas wells was highly significant for methane concentrations (P = 0.007; multiple regression), whereas distances to valley bottoms and the Appalachian Structural Front were not significant (P = 0.27 and P = 0.11, respectively). Distance to gas wells was also the mostsignificant factor for Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses (P < 0.01). For ethane concentrations, distance to gas wells was the only statistically significant factor (P < 0.005). Isotopic signatures (δ13C-CH4, δ13C-C2H6, and δ2H-CH4), hydrocarbon ratios (methane to ethane and propane), and the ratio of the noble gas 4He to CH4in groundwater were characteristic of a thermally postmature Marcellus-like source in some cases. Overall, our data suggest that some homeowners living <1 km from gas wells have drinking water contaminated with stray gases.
Ahh, the power of the internet and open sources. For anyone studying ocean acidification, this is a nirvana of resources. DV
From: SeaWeb
Date: Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 9:01 AM
June 11, 2013
OA indicates an open access article or journal.
– *Ocean acidification limits temperature-induced poleward expansion of coral habitats around Japan.
**Biogeosciences* 9(12): 4955-4968, 2012. *OA*
– *Observed acidification trends in North Atlantic water masses. **
Biogeosciences* 9(12): 5217-5230, 2012. *OA*
– *Spatiotemporal variability and long-term trends of ocean acidification in the California Current System.
**Biogeosciences*10(1): 193-216, 2013.*OA*
– *High tolerance of microzooplankton to ocean acidification in an Arctic coastal plankton community.
**Biogeosciences* 10(3): 1471-1481, 2013. *OA*
– *Short- and long-term consequences of larval stage exposure to constantly and ephemerally elevated carbon dioxide for
marine bivalve populations. **Biogeosciences* 10(4): 2241-2253, 2013. *OA*
– *Influence of ocean warming and acidification on trace metal biogeochemistry.
**Marine Ecology Progress Series* 470: 191-205, 2012. *OA*
– *Responses of marine primary producers to interactions between ocean acidification, solar radiation, and warming.
**Marine Ecology Progress Series* 470: 167-189, 2012. *OA*
– *Marine life on acid. **BioScience* 63(5): 322-328, 2013.
– *Red coral extinction risk enhanced by ocean acidification. **Scientific Reports* 3: art. 1457, 2013. *OA*
– *Dolomite-rich coralline algae in reefs resist dissolution in acidified conditions.
**Nature Climate Change* 3(3): 268-272, 2013.
– *Variation in plastic responses of a globally distributed picoplankton species to ocean acidification.
**Nature Climate Change* 3(3): 298-302, 2013.
– *Effects of ocean acidification on the embryos and larvae of red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus.
**Marine Pollution Bulletin* 69(1-2): 38-47, 2013.
– *Temperature and CO2 additively regulate physiology, morphology and genomic responses of larval sea urchins,
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. **Proceedings of the Royal Society of London [B]* 280(1759): art. 20130155, 2013.
– *Addressing ocean acidification as part of sustainable ocean development. **Ocean Yearbook* 27: 29-46, 2013.
– *The marine inorganic carbon system along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the United States: Insights from a
transregional coastal carbon study. **Limnology and Oceanography* 58(1): 325-342, 2013. *OA*
– *The responses of eight coral reef calcifiers to increasing partial pressure of CO2 do not exhibit a tipping point.
**Limnology and Oceanography* 58(1): 388-398, 2013. *OA*
– *Concentration boundary layers around complex assemblages of macroalgae: Implications for the effects of ocean
acidification on understory coralline algae. **Limnology and Oceanography* 58(1):121-130, 2013.
– *Interactive effects of elevated temperature and CO2 levels on metabolism and oxidative stress in two common marine
bivalves (Crassostrea virginica and Mercenaria mercenaria).
**Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology* 164(4):545-553, 2013.
– *CO2-driven seawater acidification differentially affects development and molecular plasticity along life history of fish
(Oryzias latipes). *
*Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology* 165(2): 119-130, 2013.
– *Preparing to manage coral reefs for ocean acidification: lessons from coral bleaching.
**Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment* 11(1): 20-27, 2013.
– *Marine fungi may benefit from ocean acidification. **Aquatic Microbial Ecology* 69(1): 59-67, 2013.
– *Effects of ocean acidification on early life-history stages of the intertidal porcelain crab Petrolisthes cinctipes.
**Journal of Experimental Biology* 216(8): 1405-1411, 2013.
– *Impact of ocean acidification on metabolism and energetics during early life stages of the intertidal porcelain crab
Petrolisthes cinctipes. **Journal of Experimental Biology* 216(8): 1412-1422, 2013.
– *Response to ocean acidification in larvae of a large tropical marine fish, Rachycentron canadum. **Global Change Biology*
19(4): 996-1006, 2013.
– *Interacting effects of ocean acidification and warming on growth and DMS-production in the haptophyte coccolithophore
Emiliania huxleyi.
**Global Change Biology* 19(4): 1007-1016, 2013.
– *Food availability outweighs ocean acidification effects in juvenile Mytilus edulis: laboratory and field experiments.
**Global Change Biology*19(4): 1017-1027, 2013.
– *Anthropogenic changes to seawater buffer capacity combined with natural reef metabolism induce extreme future coral reef
CO2 conditions. **Global Change Biology *19(5): 1632-1641, 2013.
– *Impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms: quantifying sensitivities and interaction with warming.
**Global Change Biology*19(6): 1884-1896, 2013.*OA*
– *Detrimental effects of ocean acidification on the economically important Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum).
**Global Change Biology* 19(6): 1897-1908, 2013.
– *Ocean acidification and warming scenarios increase micro-bioerosion of coral skeletons.
**Global Change Biology* 19(6):1919-1929, 2013.
– *Vulnerability of the calcifying larval stage of the Antarctic sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri to near-future ocean
acidification and warming. **Global Change Biology *19(7): 2264-2275, 2013.
– *Does elevated pCO2 affect reef octocorals? **Ecology and Evolution*3(3): 465-473, 2013. *OA*
– *One-year experiment on the physiological response of the Mediterranean crustose coralline alga, Lithophyllum cabiochae, to
elevated pCO2 and temperature. **Ecology and Evolution* 3(3): 676-693, 2013. *OA*
– *Meta-analysis reveals complex marine biological responses to the interactive effects of ocean acidification and warming.
**Ecology and Evolution* 3(4): 1016-1030, 2013. *OA*
– *Near-future ocean acidification causes differences in microbial associations within diverse coral reef taxa.
**Environmental Microbiology Reports* 5(2): 243-251, 2013.
– *Consequences of increased temperature and acidification on bacterioplankton community composition during a mesocosm spring
bloom in the Baltic Sea. **Environmental Microbiology Reports* 5(2): 252-262, 2013.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2332234/Why-rare-species-coral-reefs-tropical-forests-alpine-meadows-determine-planet-survives-global-disasters.html#ixzz2V4REovtx
Researchers from the University of Montpellier in France analysed the role rare species play within coral reefs, tropical forests and alpine meadows
The findings suggest that rare species play a more important part in maintaining ecosystems than was first thought and this ‘calls into question many current strategies’
By Victoria Woollaston
PUBLISHED: 16:03 EST, 28 May 2013 | UPDATED: 16:03 EST, 28 May 2013
Rare species perform unique roles in the way the world functions, claims new research, contradicting what was previously thought.
A study from a team of researchers at the University of Montpellier in France has discovered that rare species perform tasks that more common species can’t.
Using data from three different ecosystems – coral reefs, tropical forests and alpine meadows – the researchers found that these unique functions are essential for maintaining balance within current ecosystems.
Researchers from the University of Montpellier in France have discovered that rare species, such as the giant moray eel, play a much more vital role in the balance of their ecosystems than was first thought.
Rare species, such as the giant moray eel found in coral reefs in the Red Sea, play a much more vital role in the balance of their ecosystems than was first thought
WHAT MAKES UP CORAL REEFS?
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate released by corals.
Reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters.
Often called ‘rainforests of the sea’, coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth.
They take up less than 0.1% of the world’s ocean surface, yet are home to 25% of all marine species, including fish, mollusks, worms, crustaceans, echinoderms and sponges.
The annual global economic value of coral reefs was estimated at US$ 375 billion in 2002.
However, coral reefs are fragile ecosystems because they are very sensitive to water temperature.
And if these rare species disappear, our ecosystems could fail – or struggle to rebuild in the event of a global disaster.
Lead researcher Dr David Mouillot said: ‘These unique features are irreplaceable, as they could be important for the functioning of ecosystems if there is major environmental change.’
As rare species and the biodiversity of these regions decline, the unique traits and features these animals bring to the areas are vulnerable to extinction because rare species are likely to disappear first.
Biodiverse environments are known by their large number of rare species.
These rare species contribute to the diversity of an area but, up until now, their functional importance within these ecosystems has been largely unknown.
Because there are fewer rare species within a region, they were traditionally thought to have little bearing on how other species interact and how the ecosystem functions, compared with more common species.
If rare species seen in places such as coral reefs and rainforests die out, the carefully balanced ecosystems of those regions could fail and be damaged.
If rare species seen in places such as coral reefs and rainforests die out, the carefully balanced ecosystems of those regions could fail or be damaged. This is because rare species perform unique functions within these areas, say the researchers
The rare pyramidal saxifrage, an alpine plant, is an important resource for pollinators in the mountain regions of Europe
The rare pyramidal saxifrage, an alpine plant, is an important resource for pollinators in the mountain regions of Europe
It was previously assumed that rare species play the same roles within an ecosystem as their common neighbours, yet have less impact because of their low numbers.
This phenomenon is known as ‘functional redundancy’.
The redundancy suggests that rare species merely serve as an ‘insurance’ policy for the ecosystem, in the event of an ecological loss.
To test this, the researchers analysed the extent to which rarer species in the three different ecosystems performed the same ecological functions as the most common ones.
They examined biological and bio-geographical information from 846 reef fish, 2,979 alpine plants and 662 tropical trees and found that most of the unique and vulnerable functions, carried out via a combination of traits, were associated with rare species.
Examples of rare species that were found by the researchers to perform vulnerable functions include the giant moray, a predatory fish that hunts at night in the labyrinths of coral reefs and the pyramidal saxifrage, an alpine plant that is an important resource for pollinators.
Another was the Pouteria maxima, a huge tree in the rainforest of Guyana, which is particularly resilient to fire and drought.
Not only are these species rare, they also have few functional equivalents among the more common species in their respective ecosystems, according to the research published in the journal PLOS Biology.
The Kaieteur National Park in Guyana.
The Kaieteur National Park in Guyana. The rainforest in Guyana is a biodiverse environment because of the large number of species that live in relatively close proximity. Researchers have found that rare species, including the Guyanan tree Pouteria maxima, are fundamental to maintaining balance in biodiverse ecosystems
Dr Mouillot said: ‘Our results suggest that the loss of these species could heavily impact upon the functioning of their ecosystems.
‘This calls into question many current conservation strategies.’
The work emphasises the importance of the conservation of rare species, even in diverse ecosystems.
Dr Mouillot said rare species are more vulnerable and serve irreplaceable functions, the preservation of biodiversity as a whole – not just the most common species, but all those who perform vulnerable functions – appears to be crucial for the resilience of ecosystems.
He added: ‘Rare species are not just an ecological insurance – they perform additional ecological functions that could be important during rapid transitions experienced by ecosystems.
‘The vulnerability of these functions, in particular biodiversity loss caused by climate change, highlights the underestimated role of rare species in the functioning and resilience of ecosystems.
‘Our results call for new experiments to explicitly test the influence of species rarity and the uniqueness of combinations of traits on ecological processes.’
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Scott Wooldridge S.Wooldridge@aims.gov.au via coral.aoml.noaa.gov
6:40 AM (3 hours ago) Thursday, May 2, 2013
to coral-list
For both the geologist and biologist alike, the extending dimension of coral skeletal growth (i.e. skeletal extension) is often considered a good indicator of the efficient functioning of the coral-algae symbiosis. In a new manuscript in Biogeosciences I outline why this conceptualisation can be misleading. This new explanation provides insight into: (i) why fast growth at optimal temperatures is often a reliable indicator of ‘bleaching sensitivity’ under thermal stress, (ii) why the gross skeletal morphology of a coral changes with variable environmental conditions (nutrients, pco2, light, SST, flow), and (iii) why this challenges the development of reliable paleo-climate proxies based on coral skeletons.
Wooldridge, S (2013) A new conceptual model of coral biomineralisation: hypoxia as the physiological driver of skeletal extension, Biogeosciences, 10, 2867-2884.
http://www.biogeosciences.net/10/2867/2013/bg-10-2867-2013.pdf
The manuscript builds upon ideas and concepts developed in another recently published Biogeosciences manuscript which explains why enlarged and fast-growing endosymbiont populations – as permitted by the modern envelope of seawater conditions (characterised by elevated temperatures, rising pCO2, and enriched nutrient levels) – are conspiring to lower the thermal ‘breakpoint’ of the coral-algae symbiosis.
Wooldridge, S (2013) Breakdown of the coral-algae symbiosis: towards formalising a linkage between warm-water bleaching thresholds and the growth rate of the intracellular zooxanthellae, Biogeosciences, 10, 1647-1658.
http://www.biogeosciences.net/10/1647/2013/bg-10-1647-2013.pdf
In their separate ways, the two papers support the case that the optimal (stable) pCO2-SST-light-nutrient envelope for the coral-algae symbiosis was transgressed for most global reef sites long before the first ‘visual’ recordings of mass bleaching in the early 1980’s. For those interested, I have previously outlined in another Biogeosciences manuscript the available evidence to suggest that the interglacial pCO2 threshold (<260ppm) is a key stability threshold for the coral-algae symbiosis.
Wooldridge, S (2012) A hypothesis linking sub-optimal seawater pCO2 conditions for cnidarians-Symbiodinium symbioses with the exceedence of the interglacial threshold (>260ppmv), Biogeosciences, 9, 1709-1723.
http://www.biogeosciences.net/9/1709/2012/bg-9-1709-2012.pdf
Scott Wooldridge
Research Scientist
Climate Change and Ocean Acidification Team
Australian Institute of Marine Science