Reefs as Source or Sink of CO2
Kayanne
kayanne at geogr.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Mon Feb 19 07:26:15 EST 1996
Dear coral-list participants,
Thank you for the recent information exchange on our paper "Diurnal changes
in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in coral reef water" in Science,
269, 214-216 (1995).
As Dr. Jean-Pierre Gattuso showed, we have received two comments from Dr.
Gattuso et al. and Prof. Buddemeier and I responded to them. Their
principal criticisms are that our examples are too small
(representativeness of our study site and statistical poverty etc.) to
contradict the current idea that reef calcium carbonate production exceeds
net photosynthetic production and act as a sources of CO2.
In my response to their comments, I stressed that our basic question is to
the idea of a closed reef originated from Odum in 1950's that reef net
primary production is zero, because reefs are surrounded by tropical
oligotrophic water. We wish that the discussion of the relation between
reefs and CO2 will not remain in sink/source controversy but is sublated to
create new viewpoint on coral reefs.
This March, we will hold an "International Workshop on Response of Coral
Reefs to Global Changes" in Tsukuba, Japan. One of the topics in it is to
extend the idea of open reefs both to the outer ocean and to the
atmosphere in relation not only to carbon but also to nitrogen and
phosphate. Basically this workshop is composed of the presentations only
by invited speakers and is not a open symposium. We would like to discuss
the issues from interdisciplinary points of views and both from longer and
shorter timescales and hope to create a new research program on reefs and
global changes.
Hajime Kayanne
Univ. Tokyo
------------------------
International Workshop on Response of Coral Reefs to Global Changes
Date: 4-6 March, 1996
Venue: Auditorium, Tsukuba Research Center, Agency of Industrial Science
and Technology, MITI (Tsukuba 305, Japan)
Rationale:
Coral reefs are landforms constructed by corals themselves, on which
diversified creatures live and they drive biogeochemical cycles in relation
to the ocean and the atmosphere. Coral reefs are related not only to local
environmental changes but also to major elements of the global changes: CO2
increase, global warming and sea-level changes. To understand reef
response to the global changes, we should view them from interdisciplinary
points of view (geological, physical, ecological and biogeochemical) and in
relation to the ocean and the atmosphere.
The target timescale of the future global changes is 100 years. At this
timescale, reef landforms and functions of reefs to the global cycles have
been changed and will be changed. We should approach this timescale both
from longer (>1000 years) and from shorter (<10 years) timescales.
On the basis of these points, this workshop intends to create new
research fields to evaluate and predict response of coral reefs to the
global changes from interdisciplinary points of view. Though the speakers
approaches the issue from various viewpoints and timescales, they are asked
to comment the relation between reefs and the global changes with a
timescale of 100 years.
Sponsors
Science and Technology Agency, Japan
Geological Survey of Japan
4 March
Yonekura, N. (Univ. Tokyo): Background and outline of this workshop
Session 1. Coral reefs and global changes: To review global changes which
affect coral reefs and to discuss their relation to reef development mainly
from longer timescales and change in reef landforms accompanying with the
changes.
Chair: Matsumoto, E. (Inst. Hydrospheric-Atmospheric Sci., Nagoya Univ.)
Fairbanks, R. G. (Lamont-Doherty Geoscience Observatory): The response of
reefs to changing sea level.
Kayanne, H. (Univ. Tokyo): Reef development through postglacial time with
change in geomorphological, physical, biological and biogeochemical
interactions.
Session 2. Changes in physical conditions: To review hydrological
environment around coral reefs and to discuss necessary researches to
evaluate and predict responses of reefs to the past and future global
changes.
Chair: Hosokawa, Y. (Port Harbour Res. Inst.)
Wolanski, E., Massel, S. and Furukawa, K. (Australian Institute of Marine
Science): Oceanographic impacts of sea level rise on coral reefs.
Nakamura, Y. (Kyushu Univ.): Hydrodynamic control of mass transfer at the
sea floor.
Session 3. Characteristics of coral reef ecosystems: To show uniqueness of
coral reef ecosystems and their biogeochemical cycles comparing with the
other ecosystems.
Chair: Omori, M. (Tokyo Univ. Fisheries)
Hughes, T. (James Cook Univ.): Geographic variation in community structure
of coral reefs: Implications for global climate change.
Fry, B. (Florida Int. Univ.): N budgets and possible uses of 15N to study
coral reef N cycles.
Wada, E. (Kyoto Univ.): Isotope biogeochemical structures of several
aquatic ecosystems with emphasis on N2 fixation.
Session 4. Response of corals and reef ecosystems to the global changes: To
discuss the past and the future responses of corals and reef ecosystems to
the global changes.
Chair: Yamazato, K. (Univ. Ryukyus)
Muscatine, L. (Univ. California L. A.): Response of corals to global changes.
Eakin, C. M. (NOAA): Response of coral reef ecosystems to global changes.
Tsuchiya, M. (Univ. Ryukyus): Environmental purification in coral reefs:
maintenance of beautiful landscape by biological activities.
5 March
Session 5. Role of coral reefs in the global biogeochemical cycles: To
discuss the functions of reefs in the global carbon and nutrient cycles.
Chair: Koike I. (Ocean Res. Inst., Univ. Tokyo)
Gattuso, J. -P. (Observatoire Oceanologique Europeen): Productivity and
calcification in recent coral reefs: effect on air-sea CO2 fluxes.
Szmant, A. M. (Univ. Miami): Nutrient dynamics and cycling within coral
reef communities: contrasts between oligotrophic benthic and eutrophic
planktonic production systems.
Capone, D. (Chesapeake Biol. Lab.): Coral reef ecosystems in the context of
the marine nitrogen cycle.
Yamamuro, M. (Geological Survey of Japan): Coral reefs as sustainable
organic producers.
Session 6. Organic geochemistry of coral reefs: To view reefs from organic
geochemical points of view and to discuss the role of reefs in organic
geochemical cycles.
Chair: Ishiwatari, R. (Tokyo Metropolitan Univ.)
Logan, G. (CSIRO): Potential of organic geochemistry for study of coral
reefs and global change.
Yamamoto, M.(Geol. Survey Japan): Characteristics of organic matter in
coral reef sediments.
Session 7. Strategy in coral reef researches: To view future research
strategy in coral reef researches to solve the relation between the global
changes and reefs.
Chair: Harashima, S. (Natioanl Inst. Environmental Studies)
McManus, J. W. (Int. Center Living Aquatic Resources Management):
Determining the effects of global changes on coral reefs: A strategy for
International research, data exchange and meta-analysis.
Grigg, R. W. (Univ. Hawaii): Global climate change and coral reef
research:future priorities, planning, funding and scientific organization.
Sato, T. (Geol. Survey Japan) Closing remarks
6 March
Closed expert workshop to create new research fields.
------------------------
Sorry if you feel my response is delayed.
I am now crazy busy in WS prep, univ works etc.
I cut off sleeping time to respond to you !
Hajime KAYANNE
Dept. Geography, Univ. Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-3812-2111 (ex4573)
Fax: +81-3-5684-0518
More information about the Coral-list-old
mailing list