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NASA Sea Ice Video

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Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio The Next Generation Blue Marble data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC).

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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.

Thursday, March 1st
We finally get a break in the weather - no thunderstorms last night - so we can do the near-shore reefs with relatively good visibility. The first site we visit is adjacent to the new resort development. The reef flat is largely dead and covered with sediment. This was clearly once a thriving reef, but the sediment from the construction smothered it all. The reef drops off sharply along its outer edge, and there are signs of life here, but it is a stark contrast to the surface. The reef flat does still harbor many beautiful blue sea stars, called Linckia. They stand out even more dramatically on the dead substrate.

In the afternoon we go out again. Our first stop was a fringing reef just off of Seashell Cove resort. This reef also seemed to have declined from its former glory, but still sported a nice diversity of corals and other animals. We saw a very plump (about as big around as my calf) sea cucumber that was reddish in color but almost completely covered in sand grains. Sea cucumbers are considered a delicacy in Asia and are being over harvested in many locations.

Being covered with sand grains or other living things provides excellent camouflage, and also protects these shallow, tropical animals from damaging ultraviolet radiation. We also saw two Crown-of-thorns seastars. These animals eat coral, and in many reef areas have periodic "outbreaks," or population booms, that can be devastating for the coral.

posted by World Wildlife Fund # 1:30 PM

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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.”

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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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