A multinational team of marine scientists set sail from Eilat to Sudan Tuesday on board a ship originally built by the Nazis, kicking off a groundbreaking project to assess the health of corals throughout the Red Sea.
The six coral experts, from Israel, Switzerland, France and the UK, will join four crew members for a five-day journey to Port Sudan. There, six Sudanese researchers will join the team for studies due to last until September. Advertisement
The project, which will stretch over four summers, is aiming to establish a baseline for coral health against which future changes, particularly in climate, can be measured.
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Penn State biologist and colleagues receive $4M to identify heat-tolerant corals
An international team of researchers has been awarded $4 million to identify naturally heat-tolerant corals. Project lead Christian Voolstra collects samples underwater at Ducie Island, one of the world’s most remote reefs in the world.
Image: Pete West
An international team that includes Penn State biologist Iliana Baums has been awarded a $4 million grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to identify corals that are naturally resilient to climate change. This is one of four newly funded projects supported by the foundation that are focused on the conservation and restoration of coral reefs in the context of the climate crisis.
05-03-2021
By
Earth.com staff writer
Corals in the northern Red Sea, along with their symbiotic algae, appear to be overcoming the threat of global warming. In a new study from EPFL, experts are closer to understanding why.
Global warming is pushing ocean temperatures beyond the limit that coral reefs, as well as many other marine organisms, will be able to survive. For example, the photosynthetic algae that provide corals with essential nutrients will not be able to resist the temperatures that are projected by the end of this century.
These symbiotic algae contain a variety of pigments that give coral reefs their brilliant colors. As the algae are lost, the corals turn white in a process known as coral bleaching.
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IMAGE: The aquarium system in which scientists submitted Northern red sea corals to various tempartures. view more
Credit: Maoz Fine
Even under the most optimistic scenarios, most of the coral reef ecosystems on our planet - whether in Australia, the Maldives or the Caribbean - will have disappeared or be in very bad shape by the end of this century. That s because global warming is pushing ocean temperatures above the limit that single-cell algae, which are corals main allies, can withstand. These algae live inside coral tissue for protection and, in exchange, provide corals with essential nutrients produced through photosynthesis. Because the algae contain a variety of pigments and therefore give coral reefs their famous colors, if they are lost the corals turn white, which is known as coral bleaching. But in spite of the real threat caused by global warming, corals in the Red Sea look set to keep their vibrant color.