Frank Valoy- Chapter 7: Dropping Acid

            In chapter 7, Kolbert goes to One Tree Island, an island that is surrounded by a coral reef, where she visited a research center. It was said that the reef was caused by a storm called “Cyclone Hamish”.
             Later in the chapter, she talks about the discovery of the Great Barrier Reef, which was first found by Captain James Cook. Lyell had a theory “that reefs grew from the rims of extinct underwater volcanoes”(Pg. 128). Darwin developed his own theory when he went to Moorea Island. He theorized that once this island sank away, its surrounding reef will be an atoll.
             It was explained that reefs support many marine species with protection and food. There was a belief that reefs won’t survive the Anthropocene. (E) I interpreted this as another negative consequence of today’s human-dominated era.
             Ken Caldera, an atmospheric scientist, experimented the effect of the ocean’s pH levels with the high abundance of carbon dioxide being released into the air. His experiment revolved around the low tides near One Tree Island. Along with other biologists in the research center, he collected water samples to see how calcification rates on the reef had changed.
Marine biologist Chris Langdon experimented on his hypothesis, which was that corals care about the saturation state of the ocean. After his experiment, he noticed the following relationship: the reef grew faster with a saturation rate of 5, but grew slower with a saturation rate of 2.
             It was found that the saturation rates of the ocean are decreasing as more carbon dioxide is being emitted into the air, meaning that reefs in the ocean are going to be growing slower. (E) This is a problem because the chapter then mentions that reefs are very diverse with many different marine species, meaning that ecosystems will be lost if there are no more reefs. It can be concluded that the rise of urbanization since the Industrial Revolution plays a major factor in the rise of pollution into the atmosphere, destroying our planet little by little. This connects to the theme “Technology and population growth have enabled humans to increase both the rate and scale of their impact on the environment”.
             Towards the end of chapter 7, Kolbert talks about how coral reefs reproduce asexually through mass spawning by “budding”. Researcher Selina Ward tested the effects of acidification on mass spawning and she found out that as saturation levels decrease, the fertilization rates of reefs decrease as well.