Corals from tropical oceans around the world are being placed in deep freeze at a British Zoo to preserve them against extinction for future generations owing to the rapid destruction of coral due to increase in greenhouse gas emission levels.
Research has shown that by 2040 almost all of the worlds coral reefs will be dead, wiped out by the rising oceans temperature and increasing acidity levels caused by rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The ZSL or the Zoological Society of London is planning the world’s first “Coral Cryobank” where thousands of samples of coral of every species will be cryogenically frozen at -200 degrees centigrade in liquid nitrogen.
Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire has been identified for the new location of the Global Coral Cryobank, where an attempt to store samples of every species of coral on earth is to be made. There are currently over 1800 known tropical corals and around 3,350 cold water species. A Recent scientific breakthrough in regenerating coral from frozen samples is what led to the creation of the Cryobank.
In the wake of rising concerns over the destruction of reefs across the world, and studies made by scientists by observing the effects of the rising CO2 levels on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, have led many to believe that the gradual destruction of reefs across the world is inevitable. This month 120 legislators from across 16 countries will meet in Copenhagen to discuss how to prevent the destruction of reefs and marine ecosystems and preserve marine ecosystems. The move by the ZSL in the creation of the new coral cryobank is a ground-breaking effort to preserve coral reefs and an example that will be followed by many others. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington is already considering a similar preserve for coral along the same lines as the ZSL, in order to protect coral reefs for future generations.
* Photo credits: Photos by only_point_five, utnapistim on flickr
November 4th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Makes me sad to think that all those beautiful things I grew up scuba diving with as a kid will one day be gone. That my little girl in her lifetime may not have anything to see when she goes scuba diving herself. I know she’d love to become a Marine Biologist. Though will there be anything left to study except for frozen samples in bottles?
November 5th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Hopefully if we can curb Global Warming in our lifetime, we could re-introduce these preseved coral specimins to the ocean. Even then i’m afraid it would take another generation or more to re-grow. Marine Bioligists of the future would have to play a huge role in restoring the damage we have caused rather than study its creatures.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Are you serious? This must be a joke. Global Warming is a HOAX!!! and Al Gore is a big fat liar, google 30,000 scientists sue Al Gore. Do not buy into this crap people. They want to pass the carbon Tax so they can tax everything that produces carbon.
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:31 am
Let us wish a very beautiful enviornment for our future generations. We should allow technology wherever it can save the environment and does not harm the immediate species – flaura and fauna of the region.
December 9th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
You need think about it. Despite the emails, the overwhelming evidence showing global warming is happening hasn’t changed.
“The e-mails do nothing to undermine the very strong scientific consensus . . . that tells us the Earth is warming, that warming is largely a result of human activity,” Jane Lubchenco, who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told a House committee. She said that the e-mails don’t cover data from NOAA and NASA, whose independent climate records show dramatic warming.