All About Coral Reefs - BP7

gorgonian soft coral - from NOAA web site

Coral Reefs are so very important to the coastal ocean ecosystems because they support a great variety of life, meaning the biodiversity is out of this world!

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, lists an abundance of life associated with coral reefs, including, but not limited to, "fish, corals, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges, sharks, and sea turtles are only a few of the hundreds of thousands of creatures that rely on reefs for their survival."

NOAA also tells us that coral reefs give us protection for coastal lands, places to research medicines, and places where humans go for food.

In general, coral reefs are important to us and should be protected and preserved.

Coral Reefs are in Danger
This web site has a bunch of information on how coral reefs are endangered.

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Is Climate Change a Hoax?

 

There are many people who deny that humans are causing climate change, or global warming, today.

I have done research on some of the  claims by climate change denialists, and I find their arguments unbelievable.

One of their claims is: "scientist only measure temperature in hot places, like cities.

Well, according to this video (http://goo.gl/nIjuv6), that claim is not supported by the science because...

Earth Energy Budget

Earth's Energy Budget

Created by Danny Blas

1. What’s the definition of energy?
2. What are the 7 types of energy?
3. The 3 sources of Earth’s energy are?
4. What is the major source of Earth’s energy?
5. What’s the primary source of energy for humans?
6. What happens to the Sun’s energy coming to Earth?
7. What parts of Earth absorb the most & least energy?
8. What % do OCEANS and RAINFORESTS absorb?
9. What % do DESERTS and POLES absorb?

Composition of Coastal Ecosystems

Estuary: is a body of water that is partially open to the ocean's coast. It has a source of fresh water, from a stream or a river, which interacts with salty ocean water and the mix is called "brackish".

Estuarine environments are among the most productive on earth, creating more organic matter each year than comparably-sized areas of forest, grassland, or agricultural land. The tidal, sheltered waters of estuaries also support unique communities of plants and animals especially adapted for life at the margin of the sea. 

Many different habitat types are found in and around estuaries, including shallow open waters, freshwater and salt marshes, swamps, sandy beaches, mud and sand flats, rocky shores, oyster reefs, mangrove forests, river deltas, tidal pools, and seagrasses.

http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/about.cfm

 An example of an estuary is the Amazon River