How marine ecosystems protect us from extreme weather impacts

Living coral reefs provide our first line of defence

On September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma hurled into the Florida Keys, whipping the islands with 210 kilometres per hour winds and bringing surging ocean waters 1 to 2 meters above the normal sea level.

The Category 4 storm reduced nearly all ground-level homes to rubble in parts of the Keys. Boats crashed onto roads and into trees, and cars washed across streets.

This disaster could have been multiple times worse. I will return to what prevented this catastrophe from being more serious later in this post.

First, let’s cover the basics on the blue infrastructure that covers almost 3/4 of the earth’s surface.

Our marine waters are the biggest absorbers of carbon dioxide emissions — absorbing around 1/4 of the carbon emitted into the atmosphere by humans, per year.

On top of that, as our oceans get hotter, it will have a really big impact on global weather patterns. As the ice caps melt, sea levels will rise even faster than they are rising now.

Marine ecosystems fuel the “Blue Economy”. Here’s the business case for the money hinging on their survival.

Marine ecosystems support biodiversity, provide us with a source of protein, and ensure the livelihoods of millions of people across the globe.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the fishing industry employs some 35 million people worldwide.

Coral reefs are some of the most biodiverse areas on Earth. About 25% of fish species spend some part of their life cycle in the reefs, which means the loss of this dazzling habitat would cause rippling ecosystem effects and more widespread ocean die-offs.

Coral reefs also serve as key recreational resources that generate billions in tourism revenue each year. Conservative estimates suggest economic activity tied to the reefs contributes between $30 billion and more than $375 billion to the world economy annually.

Related posts:

Grace Millane was a young woman who was murdered by her Tinder date. He strangled her to death and hid her body in a suitcase. Although her murderer has been found guilty and will be sentenced to a…

bibit pir tanaman buah kuning Nama : Pir Kuning. Nama ilmiah: Pyrus sp. Asal bibit : Cangkok/okulasi. Tinggi bibit : 30 50 cm. Rekomendasi dataran : Dataran rendah dan dataran tinggi. Iklim tumbuh…

As you can see above feminism is a public movement that moves for the equality between men and women and not the movement that moves for the sole purpose of men-hating. Nowadays, you see lots of…