Sylvia Earle Research Paper

Dr. Sylvia Earle is an 81-year-old oceanographer. Over the years she has spent more than 7,000 hours in the ocean. During this time, she has gained an abundance of knowledge of the oceans. Her discoveries of the ocean have given us a better understanding of the oceans. She also has awakened us to the current state of the oceans. Dr. Earle is an aquanaut, an author, and was the chief of NOAA; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dr. Earle was born in Gibbstown, New jersey in 1935. Sylvia stated that her love of the oceans came from her childhood when she lived near the Gulf of Mexico in Clearwater, Florida. Sylvia has been a part of many initiatives to try and protect the ocean. One of Ms. Earle’s first initiative that she took part in was NASA’s Tektite 2. Tektite 2 was a team of female aquanauts, that was headed by Sylvia. This expedition took place in 1970; this was the second part of the experimental project. This was an …show more content…
Coral bleaching is caused by multiple stressors. One stressor is when water temperatures that are warmer than normal. The rise in the water temperatures cause the coral to expel algae that thrive in their tissues. When this happens, the coral will turn white. If the bleaching happens for too long it will cause the coral to die. In 1980, global warming caused 80% of the Indian ocean corals to become bleached, about 20% of them died. If the temperature even 2 degrees above the normal maximum for that time of year it will cause bleaching. Light too much or too little, is another stressor for coral bleaching. Global warming is not the biggest threat to coral bleaching, it’s the rising acidity levels in the ocean. the rise of acidity in the oceans has been connected to the increased levels of carbon dioxide. When the seawater becomes more acidic, the coral has a hard time rebuilding their calcium carbonate skeletons. If the water is too acidic, it will cause destruction among already preexisting