Coral Reefs - Preserving Images From The Past

[ricki]

Coral reefs are being changed, degraded in major ways in many areas throughout the world at present. Some have concluded the extensive reefs of healthy corals we saw commonly throughout the 1970's and before are being lost and are likely not to return in the foreseeable future. Climate change seems to be a major factor in this among other causes. The common lack of awareness today of the former incredible appearance of reefs is startling.

Here is the concept, to create a publicly accessible Internet archive of coral reef images. Images of formerly healthy reefs are fairly abundant in private collections at present. Thing is celluloid and even prints are vulnerable to effects of time. Also, the photographer may appreciate their significance but it is less likely that family members that follow may have the same awareness. It would be necessary to scan in the images (still and movie) of course. Might even video interviews with the photographers about recollections of the reefs and their images for inclusion in the archive. Coral reef researchers and institutions also may possess large quantities of images and documentation to go with which could be a valuable addition.

The primary and most achievable goal would simply be to preserve for public viewing, images of healthy reefs. They would be indexed in a GIS database along with what locational and time specifics could be collected along with credit for the photographer. You could go a lot further with collecting related documentation and archiving and perserving donated original images. Have spoken briefly with some in regard to this concept at NOAA, Smithsonian, RSMAS, etc. receiving supportive comments. Could make it large and housed at some large recognized institution, which it deserves or start small and just get it done. Usually prefer the latter approach in most things. This time though, it deserves some in depth coverage I think. We're talking about unprecedented loss of unique resources over vast areas.

Input, ideas?

Rick Iossi
flkitesurfer at hotmail.com

[Papa Bear]

What a load of crap! Climate change??? Okay ALGORE! Show me! You must not live on the same planet I do! I have been diving for 37 years and the reef systems are doing just fine! Not to say there are not solvable problems such as run off and over fishing in poor countries! But you don't understand the life cycle of a reef! It is a lot harder to tax and get donations when there isn't a problem!

[Papa Bear]

What credentials do you even have???? What experience??? You don't think for yourself, and tow the party line in your post, you have no science to offer only generalizations! Come back when you have been in the ocean for 40 years and have almost 5000 dives!

[Papa Bear]

Here is a good example of major healthy reef because the country cares about the reef as an asset!




I've seen beautiful corals growing in 90* plus estuary water! Get an education before you spew an unproven theory!

[Papa Bear]

This kind of post is like spam! It just pushes a political point of view and a screwed up vision of the world! Remember when Ted Dansen said "We only have 10 years to save the ocean"? Well that was 1987! Hummmm???? Well if you look at a picture of me 30 years ago it would look like today! Why wouldn't reefs be the same? Well they are, they have a life cycle like all other things! This guy doesn't even believe his own post, not one word to support his position, because there is not one drop of truth in the ocean of lies!

[shinek]

Papa,

I tend to agree with you, let the science show the real picture. However, the idea of a photographic history of reefs seems like a good one to me. While it may do little from a purely scientific standpoint, it would be interesting to see if and how reefs change over time. If it shows significant changes (good or bad) then its up to more scientific study to understand the reasons behind that change.

PS: Have you checked out the stories around Maurice Strong re: Global Warming? Makes for interesting reading, he's a very wealthy Canadian and an ex-UN official now living in China following the UN oil for food scandal.

[acelockco]

Input, ideas?

Rick Iossi
flkitesurfer at hotmail.com

Rick,

Please don't think the two Republicans in our group speak for everyone here as the majority I think agree with you about the reality of what is happening to our planet. I also think your idea for cataloging coral reefs is an amazing idea. This type of thing has been going on for a while, but only on limited sites, mostly due to funding. This is how we KNOW that the reefs are not as healthy as the once were. It is a much more scientific approach, vs. an old man's recollection of something he remembers from 37 years ago.

I think your idea is a great one, let me know if there is something I can do to help.

[Papa Bear]

Time is what makes me an old man with a great memory! It is not scientific to compare any living thing over time and judge all living things by it! It is fools science that believes in Man Made Global Warming after the Emails! It is and always will be about change! If the reefs that make up Florida had not died the state would exist! It is a horrible scientific bases and means nothing! It is just to raise money and control people! The reef are a living thing that is Hundreds of Millions of years old! To take pictures in a 40 year period and deduce anything is BS of the biggest Henny Penny type! So why aren't the oceans dead if Ted was right? Its all government left wing crap to control your life and would rather have the world end sooner than later if that is the quality of life, that of a slave to government! It is always about "Feelings" for the left! As long as it is who they feel, screw that! Man is greater and will solve problems by our nature and good old Capitalism! Lefties have no future, no hope, and no imagination!

And yes it is all about his and others vision of world government by any means!

[Papa Bear]

Reef like all living things live and die! There is a bell curve and that says at any given time 1/3 of the reef is new, 1/3 is middle aged, and 1/3 will be dying and that is life! It is called a cycle! We can document the cycle and be good stewards to our environment as to promote husbandry and the reef as an asset not damaging it with anchors and man mad effluent! But the ocean won't even remember Mankind in the scheme time! In less than 250000 years the moon will leave orbit and there will no longer be tides! So then what? Oh the lefties will figure out it was our fault and taxes us to save the planet! LOL

[acelockco]

Time is what makes me an old man with a great memory! It is not scientific to compare any living thing over time and judge all living things by it! It is fools science that believes in Man Made Global Warming after the Emails!

So you think....what.....wait...what were we talking about?

You always manipulate and change things to suit your argument. No one ever said anything about judging all living things by anything. And the methods that scientists use are very solid, it is a fool that does not believe in science.

I also never said man made global warming. Global warming may very well indeed be a natural phenomenon, however the second biggest fool in the world has to understand that the things we do to our planet has repercussions. It is obvious that pumping burned fossil fuel fumes into our atmosphere is going to cause a problem. Cutting down all of the forests is going to cause a problem. Overpopulating is going to cause a problem. Overfishing is going to cause a problem. Toxic waste is going to cause a problem.

Do you really want to be that guy?