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Huge Reef Ecosystem Was Found in the Amazon

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"Amazon reef"

While it’s true that we’ve only explored about five percent of the world’s waters, we probably imagine that that’s only available for the world’s oceans. I mean, rivers and lakes aren’t all that big, except maybe for a few lochs here or there. Otherwise, why would we skip on exploring parts of our planet, seeing as we’re so keen on discovery?

Well, certain places are just too out of the way or too dangerous to access, while others are in fact so common-looking that nobody would think there’s something worth exploring there. Other times, places are just overlooked. All that being said, a huge reef ecosystem was found in the Amazon according to a study published in the journal Science Advances.

Amazonian discovery

Located between the Maranhão State in Brazil and the French Guiana-Brazil border, the reef lies in a plume of river water right at the mouth of the Amazon. According to the published study, this is what explains how it managed to remain undiscovered for so long despite speculations of its presence being around for over six decades.

Senior author Fabiano Thompson, oceanographer and marine biology professor at the SAGE-COPPE of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and lead author Rodrigo Moura are the ones that led the expedition in the form of three cruises as part of a United States – Brazil collaboration.

New ecosystem

Expectedly, seeing as this is one of the rarest types of reefs ever encountered, its characteristics are fairly different from any other known before. Aside from the many areas of very low light and oxygen that are usually common thousands of feet under the surface, another very unusual feature of the reef is that it resides in murky, sediment-rich waters. In fact, the Amazon sheds some 333,000 nutrients per second in that particular location.

But the biome is also very strange, with the experts on the case considering it an absolute novelty. Aside from the many single-celled organisms that play a vital role in the ecosystem, the fauna mostly consists of enormous sponges, wide varieties of algae and corals, spiny lobsters, hydroids, and some 73 species of fish.

Coral failings

Even though it was just discovered, the reef is already struggling with survival. Even though it is in far better shape than the Great Barrier Reef, as the murky Amazon waters kept it safe from most of the effects of global warming, there are other factors that are contributing to this reef’s demise.

First of all, 125 portions of the river substrate were purchased by a petroleum company in 2013, and they will soon be sending enough oil the reef’s way to make it dangerous. But as it happens, this Amazonian reef is also one of its own biggest enemies, as it sacrificed resistance for quick reproduction.

Image source: Discovery

Corals depict that Strong Trade winds in the Pacific govern climate changes

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Corals-depict-climate-change

Corals prevailing on the Pacific island of Kiribati have shown climate researchers that the climate rise would soon accelerate. Researchers have cracked the code of climate change through these corals and have found that the strong and weak ocean winds have a lot to say in the Earth’s climatic changes.

Scientists are of the view that the current strong winds which are known as the negative phase of the wind cycle also called as the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, has helped to slowdown the global warming seen over the past 15 years. However, after every two to three decades, this oscillation swings back and it is feared that a rapid increase in global warming could be on the cards when the cycle once again enters a positive phase. Diane Thompson from the National Centre for Atmospheric Research NCAR has said that increased warming was inevitable.

“When the winds are not as strong as they are today or when they weaken, which they will eventually, warming in the oceans will once again be accelerated. Then the warming caused by greenhouse gases and the warming associated with this natural cycle will work in tandem to increase the rate of Global Warming.”

It is still not clear how changes in wind govern global climate change, but there are many theories. One such suggests that the stronger winds in the Pacific force warmer waters farther into the ocean and bring cooler waters up onto the surface, which in turn cool the planet down. So it can also be said that the exact opposite happens when the wind currents are not strong enough.

A coral core sample, taken from coral growing since the 19th Century on the western front of Kiribati island had its manganese levels measured because when the easterly trade winds are weak, wind from the west blows in, and stir up manganese into the water, which is then absorbed by the coral, through which it can use grow. Another sample was taken and measured for strontium, which corresponds to temperature.

Corals depict that Strong Trade Winds may hamper Global Warming a little bit

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Clouds of reef fish and corals, French frigate shoals, NWHI

Research has found that Corals can show signs of Global Warming which in turn can provide a record of the climatic changes. Researchers from University of Arizona and National Center for Atmospheric Research have found changes of chemical nature in the corals enabling investigators to read from past records of trade winds in the Pacific Ocean.

The trade winds of the Pacific have varied a lot during the 20th century thereby having lasting impressions on global temperatures. This process could also be contributing a lot today’s climatic measurements. Weak trade winds occurring from 1910 to 1940 were the reason behind warm climate during that time whereas stronger air currents between 1940s to 1970s caused rising temperatures.

Strong trade winds during recent times could be the reason behind the rate of global warming decrease since the dawn of the 21st century, climatologists believed. This new study of corals backs evidence to this notion and possibly even explains the reason behind the slowdown of global warming. Once these currents settle down, researchers claim the rise in temperatures will be inevitable.

Diane Thompson, a postdoctoral scientist at NCAR stated that: “Strong winds in the tropical Pacific have been playing a huge hand in the slowdown of Global warming over the past 15 years. When these winds inevitably change to a weaker state, global warming will start to accelerate again.”

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