Chapter 7 - Admir Basic

In Chapter 7 of The Sixth Extinction, the author focuses on coral reefs and how humanity is affecting them. Kolbert visits One Tree Island to see the Great Barrier Reef in order to observe its state. She meets Ken Caldeira who explains the effects of carbon dioxide on the Great Barrier Reef. He explains to her that the reef has been eroding due to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and ocean acidification. She goes scuba diving to take a closer look at the coral reef and is astonished by all the life forms in the reef. Prior to the modern understanding of coral reefs, Charles Darwin believed that Coral Reefs were just large objects that were submerged due to increased sea level. Today, scientists know that coral reefs are made of plants, animals, and minerals and are compared to human cities. Many scientists believe that because of current emission trends, the Great Barrier Reef will completely erode by 2050 leaving the plants and animals without a habitat. Reefs are made mostly of calcium which is susceptible to erosion as a result of acidification. The first time coral reefs were put on the spotlight was in the 1980s when scientists conducted the Biosphere Project. Scientists constructed a huge glass dome to make a synthetic ecosystem and the test proved disappointing since people became altitude sick due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide in the dome. It was also found that this synthetic ecosystem was eroding the reef inside ending the notion that reefs were immune to carbon dioxide. Ocean acidification erodes reefs because “when CO2 dissolves in water, it forms carbonic acid - H2CO3 - which effectively ‘eats’ carbonate ions, thus lowering the saturation state. [(CL) Since coral reefs are also calcium rich, they rely on the process of calcification and since the carbonate ions are combined with hydrogen rather than the calcium ions which rely on carbonate. As a result, the reef loses volume rather than being able to grow using calcification. This connects to the theme that science is a process since scientists today know about the metabolic processes carbon dioxide is disrupting which can help aid future research to find solutions.]