The Nuances Of Coral Bleaching
Monday, April 16, 2012 - 03:03
in Earth & Climate
A coral reef is a limestone formation produced by the secretion of CaCO3 from corals, algae, some mollusks, and other organisms. Although corals can be found in temperate areas, reefs and their diverse ecosystems cannot tolerate a temperature range below 18 to 22oC, so they are restricted to the shallow waters of the tropics.The biological conversion of the sea's calcium and bicarbonate(HCO3-) ions into CaCO3 is not a spontaneous process. Energy is needed to continuously raise pH and shift equilibrium towards the formation of limestone: read more