Along 100s Of Miles Of Australian Coast, Mangroves Dying En Masse

[hatrack]

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Mangroves are coastal tropical forests that thrive in the brackish zone between the land and sea. This zone is made up of uniquely adapted, saltwater tolerant trees and shrubs. They provide essential support to healthy marine ecosystems by trapping sediments and providing nutrients to nearby coastal sea grass beds and coral reefs.

In Australia, which is home to 7 % of the worlds mangroves, researchers believe that warming waters may be the reason for a massive die off of large areas of mangroves, specifically the Grey​ Mangrove, in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Mangroves take in 50 times more carbon than tropical forests by area. Hundreds of miles of mangroves along the coast of Karumba have turned a ghostly white. This event is being compared to the horrific coral bleaching event taking place on the Great Barrier Reef.

Professor​ Norm Duke from Queensland's James Cook University, a mangrove ecologist, recently stated that the die off appears to have coincided with hot water in the nearby southern Gulf Country ecosystem.

ABC​ News Australia reports:



"I'm speaking ahead of the evidence so I have to be really cautious, but I do want to draw attention to this because we need more capability to respond and find out more about what's going on." He raised serious concerns about the situation which he compared to coral bleaching happening on the Great Barrier Reef, which is the result of warmer ocean temperatures.

"We don't have any firm data on the ground to confirm the full magnitude of what's going on. "We're getting indications from what we can see on satellite imagery and also from people like fishermen, local residents, miners who are working in the area, that there's this massive incident of die-back of a large area along our shorelines.''


EDIT

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/5/13/1526296/-Mass-die-off-of-Mangroves-follows-the-recent-disastrous-bleaching-event-of-the-Great-Barrier-Reef

[Bigmack]

1. You know, it's really NOT a good idea to fuck with Mom

Nature.....that Bitch Goddess has a way of getting right back atcha! Ms Bigmack

[hatrack]

2. And for the Australian government, there's only one way to respond:

Fire more scientists!

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/international-pressure-grows-on-turnbull-government-over-csiro-cuts-20160512-gotesf.html