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How does climate change affect coral reefs? The warmer air and ocean surface temperatures brought on by climate change impact corals and alter coral reef communities by prompting coral bleaching events and altering ocean chemistry. These impacts affect corals and the many organisms that use coral reefs as habitat.

Our carbon emissions are making the ocean more acidic, which threatens life in our seas. Use these resources to educate yourself and others and take action.

Ocean Probes To Help Refine Climate Change Forecasting; 'Oceanography Is Risky; You Lose Things' by Underwatertimes.com News Service - August 5, 2011 17:43 EST LOS ANGELES, California -- A USC researcher has opened a new window to understanding how the ocean impacts climate change. Lisa Collins, environmental studies lecturer with the USC Dornsife College, spent four years collecting samples from floating sediment traps in the San Pedro Basin off the Los Angeles coast, giving scientists a peek at how much carbon is locked up in the ocean and where it comes from. Collins' research suggests that the majority of particulate organic carbon (POC) falling to the basin floor is marine-derived, not the result of runoff from rainfall. This means that the ocean off the coast of Southern California is acting as a carbon "sink" - taking carbon out of the atmosphere via phytoplankton and locking it up in sediment. Though estimates regarding the effect of carbon in the ocean already exist, her hard data can help climatologists create more accurate predictions of how carbon will impact global warming. What is unique about Collins' study is that it is not just a snapshot of POC falling, but rather a finely detailed record of four years of POC production, showing how much fell and when. "It's all tied to climate change," said Collins, who started the research as a graduate student working for USC Earth Sciences Professor Will Berelson. "This lets us see patterns. "Our data can help climate modelers better predict the interactions between the oceans and atmosphere with respect to carbon which can help them better predict how much carbon dioxide will end up sequestered over the long term as sediments in the ocean," she said. Collins' study is among the longest of its kind in the region. A similar study was conducted in Santa Monica Basin from 1985-1991, and another is currently underway in Hawaii. Her findings appear in the August issue of Deep-Sea Research I. Between Janua

How is global temperature regulated? An experimental representation - Simple experiments to help pupils understand how different parameters regulate temperature at the Earth's surface. Interaction at the Air-Water Interface, part 1 - A very simple experiment to demonstrate gas exchange and equilibration at the boundary layer between air and water. Pupils will also observe acidification of water due to CO2 introduced directly in the water. Interaction at the Air-Water Interface, part 2 - A second set of experiment to demonstrate gas exchange and equilibration at the boundary layer between air and water. Pupils observe a high atmospheric CO2 concentration will produce water acidification. Uptake of Carbon Dioxide from the Water by Plants - The following experiments will demonstrate the role of plants in mitigating the acidification caused when CO2 is dissolved in water. Carbon Dioxide Fertilization of Marine Microalgae (Dunalliela sp.) Cultures: Marine microalgae in different atmospheric CO2 concentration - An experiment designed to illustrate the impact of carbon dioxide on microalgal growth in the aquatic environment. Introduction to the principles of climate modelling - Working with real data in spreadsheets to create a climate model, students discover the global carbon budget and make their own predictions for the next century. Global carbon budget between 1958 and 2007 - Working with real global carbon budget data, students produce graphs to find the best representation of the data to make predictions about human CO2 emissions for the next century. This activity is also a nice application of percentages. Estimation of natural carbon sinks - Working with real global carbon budget data, students estimate how much of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere as a result of human activities is absorbed naturally each year. How does temperature affect the solubility of CO2 en the water? - The following experiments will explore effects of water temperature on sol

The term ocean acidification is used to describe the ongoing decrease in ocean pH caused by human CO2 emissions, such as the burning of fossil fuels. It is the little known consequence of living in a high CO2 world, dubbed at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) as the "evil twin of climate change". The oceans currently absorb approximately half of the CO2 produced by burning fossil fuel; put simply, climate change would be far worse if it were not for the oceans. However, there is a cost to the oceans - when CO2 dissolves in seawater it forms carbonic acid and as more CO2 is taken up by the oceans surface, the pH decreases, moving towards a less alkaline and therefore more acidic state. Already ocean pH has decreased by about 30% and if we continue emitting CO2 at the same rate by 2100 ocean acidity will increase by about 150%, a rate that has not been experienced for at least 400,000 years. Such a monumental alteration in basic ocean chemistry is likely to have wide implications for ocean life, especially for those organisms that require calcium carbonate to build shells or skeletons. Ocean acidification is a relatively new field of research, with most of the studies having been conducted over the last decade. While it is gaining some attention among policy makers, international leaders and the media, scientists find there is still a lack of understanding.

Ocean Acification Simulation Ocean AcidificationI developed this Carbonate Simulation to enables students and teachers to visualize how changes in atmospheric temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations may affect levels of carbon dioxide levels and related chemistry of the oceans. The applet uses coral reefs as an example of organisms that may be particularly affected by these changes in water chemistry.

This Web Seminar took place on April 14, 2011 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Presenting was Dr. Paulo Maurin from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, Todd Viola former Director of Technology for the JASON Foundation and Caroline Joyce, Project Director at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee School of Continuing Education. The presenters showcased a new tool for teachers to use real-time data in the classroom, and gave a brief overview of the issue to which the data relates.

"This free web site presents ongoing research and recent discoveries in the fields of astrophysics, Earth sciences, biodiversity, and human biology and evolution. Videos of documentary feature stories, data visualizations, and weekly reports can be played online or downloaded to your computer. Educational resources on the site help teachers use these stories in the classroom."

The Ocean Conservancy pdf document, 35 pages, 2005 20th anniversary International Coastal Cleanup The Ocean Conservancy promotes healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems and opposes practices that threaten ocean life and human life. Through research, education, and science-based advocacy, The Ocean Conservancy informs, inspires, and empowers people to speak and act on behalf of the oceans. In all its work, The Ocean Conservancy strives to be the world's foremost advocate for the oceans. The International Coastal Cleanup engages people to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways, to identify the sources of debris, and to change the behaviors that cause pollution. Introduction How to Use This Book Quick Tips - Shoreline Cleanup - Underwater Cleanup Estimating Weights and Distances The World of Marine Debris Activities That Produce Debris Sample Data Card Items Listed on the Data Card Debris Items of Local Concern Potentially Hazardous Items Stranded or Entangled Animals Natural Items Peculiar Items Other Volunteer Opportunities - National Marine Debris Monitoring Program - RECON - Storm Drain Sentries - Ocean Action Network - Ocean Wilderness More Information

Legacy site of The national Office for Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)

Right Whales Finally Coming Home Figure "CREDIT: MICHAËL CATANZARITI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS" After more than 100 years, right whales have returned to their calving grounds in New Zealand, an international team of scientists reports. The 100-ton whales, known for their social frolicking and impressive acrobatic displays, were hunted to extinction in these same waters during the 19th and 20th centuries' era of industrial whaling. A small population managed to survive near remote, sub-Antarctic islands south of New Zealand. In recent years, a few dozen females found their way back to the same bays their ancestors used for bearing their young. Normally, such cultural knowledge is passed from mother to daughter, the researchers say. But the tradition had been lost, until these pioneering females began making the journey once again. Reporting in Marine Ecology Progress Series, the scientists-from Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand-confirmed that some of the females had migrated from the southern islands to New Zealand by comparing the DNA in tissue samples collected from seven whales at both sites. Now that the tradition has been restored, scientists expect more whales to follow the pioneers.

The following is not a futuristic scenario. It is not science fiction. It is a demonstration of the capabilities of GIS to model the results of an extremely unlikely, yet intellectually fascinating query: What would happen if the earth stopped spinning? ArcGIS was used to perform complex raster analysis and volumetric computations and generate maps that visualize these results.

About the College Board Standards for College Success (CBSCS) The College Board Standards for College Success (CBSCS) define the knowledge and skills students need to develop and master in English language arts, mathematics and statistics, and science in order to be college and career ready. The CBSCS outline a clear and coherent pathway to Advanced Placement® (AP®) and college readiness with the goal of increasing the number and diversity of students who are prepared not only to enroll in college, but to succeed in college and 21st-century careers. The College Board has published these standards freely to provide a national model of rigorous academic content standards that states, districts, schools and teachers may use to vertically align curriculum, instruction, assessment and professional development to AP and college readiness. These rigorous standards: provide a model set of comprehensive standards for middle school and high school courses that lead to college and workplace readiness; reflect 21st-century skills such as problem solving, critical and creative thinking, collaboration, and media and technological literacy; articulate clear standards and objectives with supporting, in-depth performance expectations to guide instruction and curriculum development; provide teachers, districts and states with tools for increasing the rigor and alignment of courses across grades 6-12 to college and workplace readiness; and assist teachers in designing lessons and classroom assessments.

"The theme of the 175th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), "Our Planet and Its Life, Origins, and Futures," celebrated an enormous breadth of scientific accomplishments that transcends many subdisciplines of the natural and social sciences. It was intended to be both a reflection on what has been learned and a look forward to what must yet be better known if we are to make wise choices as stewards of our planet. The program committee saw this as an opportunity to examine how we have come to know and understand the coevolution of life with its interacting biological, biogeochemical, and physical environments. Further advances in this area are essential to develop scenarios that can be useful in guiding decisions to address some of society's most pressing problems. We must work toward a future that embraces the wise application of science to improve human health and well-being and to sustain the great diversity of life on our planet. "

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