Source: The Town Talk
July 15, 2012

"MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Coral reefs might be undergoing a total collapse that could last thousands of years, a situation made worse by man-made greenhouse gases, according a Florida Tech study just published in Science.

But reefs rebounded from previous climate extremes, so they can still be saved, the researchers say, as long as greenhouse-gas trends are reversed or stopped.

"It's one of these good news-bad news sort of scenarios," said co-author Richard Aronson, a biology professor at Florida Tech. "The hopeful news is that if we can get serious about controlling greenhouse gas emissions and controlling climate change, we have a good chance of saving reefs. But it has to be combined with management of local issues as well."

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