Wildlife

Sunscreen - Killing The World's Coral Reefs

Just two weeks ago, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) raised the alarm about the terrible plight facing the Earth’s coral reefs. For the third time in history, the world is in the midst of a global coral bleaching event, the agency said.

"We are losing huge areas of coral across the U.S., as well as internationally," said Mark Eakin, NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch coordinator, citing climate change and events like the current El Niño as primary reasons for the mass die-off.

A new study published this week is bringing even more bad news about the world’s dying corals. According to researchers, there may be another, oft-overlooked threat to reefs worldwide: sunscreen.

Scientists who conducted their research in Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands found that the chemical oxybenzone -- used in more than 3,500 sunscreen products worldwide, including those by popular brands such as Coppertone, L’Oreal and Banana Boat -- was extremely harmful to fragile coral reefs.

"The chemical not only kills the coral, it causes DNA damage in adults and deforms the DNA in coral in the larval stage, making it unlikely they can develop properly," a news release reported.

The researchers said even a tiny amount of oxybenzone-containing sunscreen can damage corals. As The Washington Post noted, "the equivalent of a drop of water in a half-dozen Olympic-sized swimming pools" was sufficient to cause harm.

Every year, approximately 14,000 tons of sunscreen ends up in coral reefs worldwide.

Environment

Coral reefs around the world are under severe threat.

Caribbean corals are under immediate threat and urgent action was needed to limit pollution and aggressive fishing practices. Average live coral cover on Caribbean reefs has declined to just 8 percent today compared to more than 50 percent in the 1970s.

As more and more carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere, sea water turns more acidic which can hinder calcification which is crucial for corals' growth.

Warmer sea surface temperatures are likely to trigger more frequent and more intense mass coral bleaching, which is when reefs turn pale. Although corals can survive bleaching, if the heat persists they can die. This happened in 1998 when 16 percent of corals were lost in a single, prolonged period of warmth worldwide.

Warmer ocean temperatures and acidification are also placing the Great Barrier Reef off Australia under stress.

Coral reefs are home to almost a quarter of the world's ocean species, they provide coastal protection and can support tourism and fishing industries for millions of people worldwide.