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Times OnLineCorals from tropical oceans are to be placed in deep freeze at a British zoo to preserve them for posterity as they face destruction from rising greenhouse gas levels.
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is planning the first global “coral cryobank”, where hundreds of samples from each species would be stored in liquid nitrogen.
The decision follows research showing that most coral reefs will be largely dead by 2040, wiped out by a combination of rising temperatures and increasing acidity in oceans. They include Australia’s 1,600-mile Great Barrier Reef, most Caribbean reefs and those in the “coral triangle” which spans Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor.
“Carbon dioxide emissions are rising fast and are already above the safe level for corals,” said Dr Alex Rogers, head of marine biodiversity at the ZSL.
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article6888969.ece
"Unless something very remarkable happens during December's climate talks, the world's reefs will be reduced to slime-covered rubble by 2050," said Dr Alex Rogers, of the Institute of Zoology, London."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/25/coral-arks-doomed-reefsThe truth is, nothing remarkable is on the way. It's beyond too late.