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When I first began reading professor Simon Donner's acclaimed climate science, ecology blog Maribo, I had no idea it had anything to do with marine science and I quite disliked that title. That is, until I realized what it all meant. Maribo in the Ikiribati language means "the waves that crash over the reef" and is actually quite a poetic and fitting name for a conversation and news blog that tackles all things marine life, climate change, policy, and global warming and for a geography professor that researches ecology, corals, and the ocean.
We caught up with Professor Simon Donner to see where his research, teaching, and marine adventures are taking him these days!
Tell me about yourself and the work you're doing now.
I'm a professor in the Geography Department at the University of British Columbia. My research and teaching is a mix of climate science and ecology. For the past few years, I've been working with colleagues around the world to predict how ocean warming may affect coral reefs. It is no secret to the readers of Reef Tank that warm water temperatures can cause the "bleaching" and possibly death of corals. For the past several years, I've worked with colleagues to connect the dots between climate change and the increasing number of the mass coral bleaching events around the world, as well as to make predictions for the future.
What made you become interested in how climate affects people and aquatic ecosystems?
It is fair to say that began a long time ago. Like a lot of Canadian kids, I spent many of my summers around lakes. The dock at my family's cottage was like an amateur weather station, a place to watch how the water responded to the seasons and to the changes in the weather from year to the next. When I started seriously studying climate science and aquatic ecology, I came to appreciate the great range in people's vulnerability to the climate and ecological health around the world. For most people in Canada and other wealthy nations, the weather is often only a mere irritant on the walk between their home and their vehicle. In other places, the weather is crucial to survival from one day, one month or one year to the next.
Tell us about your research and what it reveals
I'll be blunt. The take-home message of my coral reef research is that without serious, near-term efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase coral reef resilience, the world's coral reefs will experience dangerously frequent mass bleaching events within decades. This won't mean the extinction of all tropical reef corals - some hardy ecosystems and some hardy species will persist. However, the vast majority of the world's coral reefs could become so physically and biologically degraded that they no longer perform their basic services like providing a home for reef fish and protecting shorelines from erosion.
My current research involves a combination of field surveys in the central Pacific, satellite monitoring of ocean temperatures and climate modeling. I'm hoping that we can identify specific islands and specific habitats where the corals have been more resistant to bleaching in the past. This has led me to places like the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, where I think - I don't know yet - the coral communities can tell us a bit about the future.
Why do you think the world should be aware of the climate change problems and how they affect the aquatic ecosystem specifically?
Momentum, momentum, momentum. The actions we take today will affect the climate for decades and centuries to come. I like to use this analogy. The climate is like a big ship. After you hit the brakes, it takes a long time for the ship to actually come to a stop. That's how it works with greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Right now, the science says our ship is the Titanic and we're aiming right for the iceberg. The longer we wait to hit the brakes, the harder we're going to hit that iceberg. So we need to do everything we can to slam on those brakes - reduce greenhouse gas emissions - and to nudge the iceberg out of the way - adapt to climate change.
This is particularly true for coral reefs, threatened by both rising water temperatures and rising levels of carbon dioxide, what we can "ocean acidification". We're extremely close to passing the point at which it becomes too late to hit the brakes for coral reefs.
What work/research have you done with corals?
I've already answered some of this. In Kiribati, we've been doing some very elementary monitoring of coral cover. It's been fascinating to document the coral cover and diversity in these remote islands, and to note the way the corals have recovered from a bleaching event back in 2004. Thus far, almost no Pocilliporids in the atolls of Abaiang and Butaritari appear to have recovered from the 2004 event; but many other taxa, like the massive Porites, are thriving.
Tell me about your work with graduate students.
I only moved to UBC last year, so I'm still awaiting the arrival of new graduate students (this fall). They'll be looking at the causes the expansion of coastal "dead zones" - like the famous one in the Gulf of Mexico - around the world. Once I finish assembling the lab and organizing some field campaigns, I hope to have students work on the Kiribati research.
How do you make the world aware of the issues with climate change?
Personally, I see public education and outreach as part of my core responsibility as a scientist. I give seminars at high schools, community gatherings, teacher's conferences and universities, and I try to provide a scientist's perspective on climate change "news" through my blog, Maribo. And, of course, teaching about climate change at the university is a critical way to reach the leaders of tomorrow. My third year course on climate change covers the science of the climate system and the politics of climate change, in order to prepare students for the future.
To be frank - none of us, including myself, are doing enough.
With corals?
I think it's important to engage the diverse range of people who care about corals and coral reefs. This blog is one great example. There's a huge community of coral reef enthusiasts out there - scuba divers, marine conservationists, aquarium keepers, you name it - whose energy could be harvested to raise awareness of the crisis affected the world's coral reefs.
How can marine enthusiasts at home promote marine conservation, awareness of climate issues, etc?
First, get organized and speak up. Write to your newspaper and write to your representative - as individuals and as a community - about the need for coral reef conservation and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You can even write to President Obama himself. Raised in Hawaii, he knows coral reefs better than any US President before him. Get coral reef conservation on the political agenda.
Second, set an example at home. Reduce your own energy use and support renewable forms of energy and transportation. You can't solve climate change on your own. But you can set an example and help build the movement this world badly needs.
For more on Simon Donner's marine science research, check out his official homepage.
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We caught up with Professor Simon Donner to see where his research, teaching, and marine adventures are taking him these days!
Tell me about yourself and the work you're doing now.
I'm a professor in the Geography Department at the University of British Columbia. My research and teaching is a mix of climate science and ecology. For the past few years, I've been working with colleagues around the world to predict how ocean warming may affect coral reefs. It is no secret to the readers of Reef Tank that warm water temperatures can cause the "bleaching" and possibly death of corals. For the past several years, I've worked with colleagues to connect the dots between climate change and the increasing number of the mass coral bleaching events around the world, as well as to make predictions for the future.
What made you become interested in how climate affects people and aquatic ecosystems?
It is fair to say that began a long time ago. Like a lot of Canadian kids, I spent many of my summers around lakes. The dock at my family's cottage was like an amateur weather station, a place to watch how the water responded to the seasons and to the changes in the weather from year to the next. When I started seriously studying climate science and aquatic ecology, I came to appreciate the great range in people's vulnerability to the climate and ecological health around the world. For most people in Canada and other wealthy nations, the weather is often only a mere irritant on the walk between their home and their vehicle. In other places, the weather is crucial to survival from one day, one month or one year to the next.
Tell us about your research and what it reveals
I'll be blunt. The take-home message of my coral reef research is that without serious, near-term efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase coral reef resilience, the world's coral reefs will experience dangerously frequent mass bleaching events within decades. This won't mean the extinction of all tropical reef corals - some hardy ecosystems and some hardy species will persist. However, the vast majority of the world's coral reefs could become so physically and biologically degraded that they no longer perform their basic services like providing a home for reef fish and protecting shorelines from erosion.
My current research involves a combination of field surveys in the central Pacific, satellite monitoring of ocean temperatures and climate modeling. I'm hoping that we can identify specific islands and specific habitats where the corals have been more resistant to bleaching in the past. This has led me to places like the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, where I think - I don't know yet - the coral communities can tell us a bit about the future.
Why do you think the world should be aware of the climate change problems and how they affect the aquatic ecosystem specifically?
Momentum, momentum, momentum. The actions we take today will affect the climate for decades and centuries to come. I like to use this analogy. The climate is like a big ship. After you hit the brakes, it takes a long time for the ship to actually come to a stop. That's how it works with greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Right now, the science says our ship is the Titanic and we're aiming right for the iceberg. The longer we wait to hit the brakes, the harder we're going to hit that iceberg. So we need to do everything we can to slam on those brakes - reduce greenhouse gas emissions - and to nudge the iceberg out of the way - adapt to climate change.
This is particularly true for coral reefs, threatened by both rising water temperatures and rising levels of carbon dioxide, what we can "ocean acidification". We're extremely close to passing the point at which it becomes too late to hit the brakes for coral reefs.
What work/research have you done with corals?
I've already answered some of this. In Kiribati, we've been doing some very elementary monitoring of coral cover. It's been fascinating to document the coral cover and diversity in these remote islands, and to note the way the corals have recovered from a bleaching event back in 2004. Thus far, almost no Pocilliporids in the atolls of Abaiang and Butaritari appear to have recovered from the 2004 event; but many other taxa, like the massive Porites, are thriving.
Tell me about your work with graduate students.
I only moved to UBC last year, so I'm still awaiting the arrival of new graduate students (this fall). They'll be looking at the causes the expansion of coastal "dead zones" - like the famous one in the Gulf of Mexico - around the world. Once I finish assembling the lab and organizing some field campaigns, I hope to have students work on the Kiribati research.
How do you make the world aware of the issues with climate change?
Personally, I see public education and outreach as part of my core responsibility as a scientist. I give seminars at high schools, community gatherings, teacher's conferences and universities, and I try to provide a scientist's perspective on climate change "news" through my blog, Maribo. And, of course, teaching about climate change at the university is a critical way to reach the leaders of tomorrow. My third year course on climate change covers the science of the climate system and the politics of climate change, in order to prepare students for the future.
To be frank - none of us, including myself, are doing enough.
With corals?
I think it's important to engage the diverse range of people who care about corals and coral reefs. This blog is one great example. There's a huge community of coral reef enthusiasts out there - scuba divers, marine conservationists, aquarium keepers, you name it - whose energy could be harvested to raise awareness of the crisis affected the world's coral reefs.
How can marine enthusiasts at home promote marine conservation, awareness of climate issues, etc?
First, get organized and speak up. Write to your newspaper and write to your representative - as individuals and as a community - about the need for coral reef conservation and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You can even write to President Obama himself. Raised in Hawaii, he knows coral reefs better than any US President before him. Get coral reef conservation on the political agenda.
Second, set an example at home. Reduce your own energy use and support renewable forms of energy and transportation. You can't solve climate change on your own. But you can set an example and help build the movement this world badly needs.
For more on Simon Donner's marine science research, check out his official homepage.
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