A new study shows coral reefs have regulated Earth's climate and marine evolution for over 250 million years. Reef growth and collapse affected ocean alkalinity, carbon absorption, and plankton evolution, revealing long-term climate recovery processes relevant to modern CO₂ increases
Their distinctive brain-like appearance comes from the way the polyps intertwine, forming a communal structure that can survive for up to 900 years, growing just a few millimetres each year
Under a worst-case scenario, half of the coral reef ecosystems worldwide will permanently face unsuitable conditions by 2035, if climate change continues unabated, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Hawaii.
The study found that around 60 percent of the presence or absence of living coral could be explained by water depth, wave power or coastal development.
