[Coral-List] Corals and CO2 - the changing view.

[John Ware]

Dear List,

Perhaps, with all the discussion about water chemistry being changed by 
reef organisms, it is a good time to bring attention to a simplified 
view that was held by many coral reef researchers in the past ~ 25 years 
ago.

In fact, there were several published papers that stated that corals 
were acting to reduce atmospheric CO2 by sequestering carbon.

In 1992, myself, Steve Smith, and Marjorie Reaka published a paper in 
Coral Reefs that showed that the deposition of calcium carbonate on 
coral reefs was actually a source of CO2 (Coral reefs: sources or sinks 
of atmospheric CO2?, CR, 1992).

In fact, one reviewer, who was a geologist, asked why CR would publish a 
paper on a topic that was known to everyone!

It appears that the current generation of reef scientists is more 
sophisticated with regard to water chemistry.

John Ware

-- 
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     *                      John R. Ware, PhD                    *
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