EARTH 100 Winter 2012 Section 002 Coral Reefs

Dr Michela Arnaboldi
Geological Science Department 3021 CC Little Building marna@umich.edu Office Hours: by appointment

Syllabus
TEXTBOOK: Any Intro Oceanography textbook CLASS WEB SITE: https://ctools.umich.edu/portal EARTH 100 002 W12 FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, April 17, 11-12 pm Quizzes will take place occasionally Please do ask questions Send pictures!

What are Coral Reefs?

Coral reefs are rock-like structures made of calcium carbonate produced by living organisms mainly corals and algae They are prominent features of shallow tropical water environments often close to the coast Only the top layer of the coral reef is alive, as the animals die, their old shells are incorporated into the reef structure and contribute to land building

Coral Reefs-cont
Coral reefs develop over thousand of years They cover 0.71% of the area of our planet Their area is estimated at ~280,000 Km2, with the Indian and Pacific oceans accounting for 91.9% of the total They remove ~700 billion kg of C/yr from the atmosphere Host ~1 million species -- only 100,000 described

Great Barrier Reef Australia

Importance of Coral Reefs

Home to a huge variety of organisms 25% of all marine life Breeding and feeding ground for many fish and other organisms 1/3 of all ocean fish live on or depend on coral reefs Protect shorelines from erosion and flooding Many coral reef organisms are used to produce medicines Recreational use

Coral Reefs -cont

Corals

Individual animals are called polyps Several polyps make up a colony Corals are closely related to jellyfish and sea anemones