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Climate
WWF Fiji Expedition Diary
Lara Hansen, senior scientist - Cimate Change
Lara Hansen, senior scientist - climate change, traveled to Fiji in March 2007. With several local and American colleagues and a crew from National Public Radio, Lara and her team visited several coral reefs and mangrove forests to assess the current effects of climate change and look for ways to help coastal ecosystems and communities respond to the growing concerns prompted by global warming.
Join Lara and her team on a journey to one of the world's most beautiful coral reefs. Learn how WWF is studying this environment and its role as an indicator of the effects of climate change.
Heading to Fiji | Mangroves you say? | Saturday, February 24 - Here at Last! | Sunday, February 25th | Monday, February 26th | Tuesday, February 27th - Let the Work Begin | Wednesday, February 28th | Thursday, March 1st | Friday, March 2nd | Saturday, March 3rd
Mangroves you say?
Heading to Fiji we are thinking about mangroves. When they are able to flourish, they provide many benefits and uses for ecosystems and people. In fact mangroves even create land by capturing sediment in their roots. This process makes them very beneficial, especially in the face of climate change. Unfortunately, in Fiji they have been cleared for building material, firewood and to make way for coastal development.
Mangroves may also benefit coral reefs, one of the first ecosystems that scientists noticed responding to climate change. Inside the corals' tissue are tiny plants or algae, called zooxanthellae. These give the corals their colors, browns, greens, even blue and orange. Like plants everywhere, they photosynthesize and harvest energy from the sun. They share this energy with the coral animal in which they live. However, when environmental conditions become unfavorable the coral lose the zooxanthellae and appear white. This is called coral bleaching.
Most bleaching can be attributed to elevated sea temperatures. As we warm the air around us, we also warm the seas. A temperature increase of as little as 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above the maximum monthly temperature can induce bleaching. An elevation of this amount for a bit longer can cause the bleached coral to die. We are also finding that coral reefs that have bleached become more susceptible to disease which can also lead their untimely death.
The planet has already warmed 1.26 degrees F. Because of the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases we have already emitted from burning fossil fuels we expect that the climate will warm another .9 degrees F.
posted by World Wildlife Fund # 1:12 PM
Heading to Fiji | Mangroves you say? | Saturday, February 24 - Here at Last! | Sunday, February 25th | Monday, February 26th | Tuesday, February 27th - Let the Work Begin | Wednesday, February 28th | Thursday, March 1st | Friday, March 2nd | Saturday, March 3rd
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WWF Praises Gore For Climate-Smart Energy Vision July 17, 2008
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New Report From WWF Projects Stressed Water Resources In Southeast U.S. Due To Climate Change July 10, 2008
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Dr. Patrick N. Halpin To Speak At World Wildlife Fund July 09, 2008
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WWF Experts
Richard Moss
Vice President and Managing Director for Climate Change“Climate change and what we do about it is going to transform the world much more rapidly than people realize. It’s my goal to get us moving to a world we will want, not one we’ll regret leaving for our children and grandchildren.”
Climate witness
Van Beacham is a professional fly fishing guide and lives in northern New Mexico. Van has been fishing since he was 6 years old. Over the years he has witnessed many of the effects that warmer temperatures are having on the river systems and the fish that depend on them.
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Track Polar Bears
Track polar bears in three different areas of the Arctic: Svalbard, Norway; Hudson Bay, Canada and Beaufort Sea, Alaska, US.