Back From the Front Our World


Back From the Front

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Back From the Front. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

The BBC's Environment Analyst, Roger Harrabin, reports for Our World now

:00:00.:00:00.

on the dangers facing some of the planet's most spectacular underwater

:00:00.:00:13.

environments. These bubbles are poisoning the sea.

:00:14.:00:25.

Their carbon dioxide and as the gas dissolves in water, it makes

:00:26.:00:28.

carbonic acid `` they are carbon dioxide. This unique site off the

:00:29.:00:34.

tip of Papua New Guinea is nature's morning. These bubbles seat out

:00:35.:00:50.

volcanic vents and make the water here more naturally acidic. This

:00:51.:00:55.

gives scientists a clue as to what the world's oceans will look like as

:00:56.:01:01.

the emissions of man`made CO2 gets dissolved into seawater everywhere.

:01:02.:01:10.

There is no denial that seawater chemistry is changing and there is

:01:11.:01:13.

no way of stopping the atmospheric pollution going into the seawater.

:01:14.:01:43.

It has long been known carbon dioxide emissions are changing the

:01:44.:01:49.

climate. We are just discovering how much it is also acidifying the

:01:50.:02:00.

ocean. I have come to the southern hemisphere to see the size of the

:02:01.:02:06.

challenge that both issues present. To governments and scientists alike.

:02:07.:02:13.

Australia is in the frontline of ocean acidification and of change.

:02:14.:02:17.

The government fears that cutting the emissions of CO2 that are

:02:18.:02:21.

driving both of them because of fears for jobs in the economy. That

:02:22.:02:26.

doesn't mean that it isn't finding some of the world's fine scientific

:02:27.:02:33.

research. `` funding. The Australian economy depends on exports of the

:02:34.:02:37.

dirtiest fuel, Cole. It is thought to be worth more than $50 billion

:02:38.:02:43.

per year `` coal. Politicians realise that CO2 from fuels like

:02:44.:02:46.

coal is blamed for harming their country's climate and its oceans.

:02:47.:02:54.

Without global agreement to cut carbon dioxide, Australia, like many

:02:55.:02:58.

nations, is disinclined to leave its Colliver ground. `` coal in the

:02:59.:03:08.

ground. We have come 3000 kilometres north to Papa New Guinea. Our

:03:09.:03:12.

destination is a volcanic site which offers vital clues about the impact

:03:13.:03:20.

of increasing atmospheric CO2. I have been invited to join the

:03:21.:03:28.

expedition. It is led by Katarina FRU Brosius, a German born ecologist

:03:29.:03:33.

and she is determined to find out which creatures will be harmed by

:03:34.:03:39.

the changes to come. Seawater is already 30% less alkaline since we

:03:40.:03:44.

started burning fossil fuels in the Industrial Revolution. It is going

:03:45.:03:54.

to get much worse. The impact of acidifying oceans will be felt

:03:55.:03:57.

around the world. Especially in countries like Papa New Guinea,

:03:58.:04:02.

which depend on coral reefs for tourism and fishing. Papa New Guinea

:04:03.:04:09.

is in the middle of a mining boom. With all the pollution that that

:04:10.:04:12.

entails. People want a Western standard of living. There is a

:04:13.:04:17.

dawning awareness of the fragility of the environment. A day's sailing

:04:18.:04:27.

east Papa Guinea, we reach the remote island of Normandy. The

:04:28.:04:32.

island's volcano sits right on what is known as the Pacific Ring of

:04:33.:04:37.

Fire. The boat will be moored at this unique spot for a month. As

:04:38.:04:44.

scientists study the effects of the marine life of the CO2 bubbling from

:04:45.:04:50.

the events below. First, the scientists need permission from the

:04:51.:04:54.

villagers to carry out the research. They owned the reef under customary

:04:55.:05:05.

law. Hello. How are you? Good to see you. How are you? Do you remember

:05:06.:05:17.

Julie? The bubbles here, it is carbon dioxide. It is clean, but it

:05:18.:05:23.

is a gas in the air. Especially if Western countries burn so much fuel

:05:24.:05:26.

and coal, there is more of this gas in the air, and that goes into the

:05:27.:05:28.

ocean. Katarina is seeking lessons from

:05:29.:05:44.

this extraordinary underwater environment. These old boulder

:05:45.:05:53.

corals are tough enough to cope with the levels of acidity here. A`level

:05:54.:06:01.

that is expected worldwide by the end of the century.

:06:02.:06:08.

The team 's experiments are comparing this site with an

:06:09.:06:22.

unpolluted reef a few hundred yards away. Then mash tents captured soon

:06:23.:06:35.

clanked in `` plankton, to see how they will fare in the wall acidified

:06:36.:06:42.

water. `` more acidified. This site is absolutely unique in it is the

:06:43.:06:49.

only place where we can analyse the effects of acidification on whole

:06:50.:06:52.

ecosystems `` the only place in the world where we can analyse the

:06:53.:06:56.

effects. We can simulate the effects of ocean acidification. 's events

:06:57.:07:06.

produced extreme conditions. As the scientists move further away, they

:07:07.:07:10.

find the Essar point where acidification reaches the level

:07:11.:07:15.

expected elsewhere `` exact point. Further still, here is part of the

:07:16.:07:21.

reef that is unaffected by CO2. It is a festival of colour with the

:07:22.:07:26.

convoluted architecture that gives shelter to juvenile fish. Many of

:07:27.:07:31.

these spectacular corals cannot survive under acidified water. We

:07:32.:07:43.

are losing a lot of biodiversity. The reefs are suffering under high

:07:44.:07:46.

CO2 because they are built out of calcium carbonate, which is highly

:07:47.:07:51.

sensitive to more acidic waters. Once we lose the structure in the

:07:52.:07:55.

Coral Reef, we lose its biodiversity. Politicians have known

:07:56.:08:01.

for 20 years that they ought to cut CO2 to why do you think knowledge

:08:02.:08:07.

about ocean acidification would make them think differently? There is no

:08:08.:08:10.

denial that the seawater chemistry is changing. We are measuring it

:08:11.:08:16.

from a year`to`year basis. What is in the air is in equilibrium with

:08:17.:08:22.

the ocean. There is no way stopping the atmospheric pollution from going

:08:23.:08:32.

into the sea. People pollute the environment in so many ways. Here in

:08:33.:08:41.

Papa New Guinea, the UN is trying to raise awareness to keep local water

:08:42.:08:46.

supplies clean. Campaigners in tribal dress are helping to sell the

:08:47.:08:58.

message. Your water is your life! Even the emissions from the campaign

:08:59.:09:03.

truck contribute in a timely way to the global CO2 pollution that is

:09:04.:09:15.

harming the oceans. At the research site, another experiment is under

:09:16.:09:21.

way. They are retrieving boxes they fixed to the seabed two years ago.

:09:22.:09:28.

The boxes attract creatures seeking a home. By comparing the species at

:09:29.:09:35.

the polluted and unpolluted sites, they can gauge how increasing CO2

:09:36.:09:40.

will affect the entire oceans in the future. The experimental boxes come

:09:41.:09:53.

on shore for analysis. One of the scientific team members wants to

:09:54.:09:56.

establish how many species have taken up residence. We need to work

:09:57.:10:03.

very quickly, because a lot of the creatures are releasing toxins as we

:10:04.:10:08.

speak and those toxins are killing the creatures living in the sampling

:10:09.:10:16.

device and we are losing their DNA. Sorting the creatures by size. This

:10:17.:10:25.

crate helps us keep the organisms inside. The boxes are part of a

:10:26.:10:29.

worldwide network of counting the variety of species in the sea. We

:10:30.:10:38.

put a very fine mesh around the samplers, so that no creatures

:10:39.:10:45.

escape. It is only by studying the creatures together, in their natural

:10:46.:10:49.

environment, that researchers can really understand the effects of

:10:50.:10:52.

increasing CO2 on the whole ecosystem. There are too many things

:10:53.:10:59.

we don't control in vibratory settings and we can have their

:11:00.:11:05.

diversity we have in here. The contents of this book suggest the

:11:06.:11:09.

levels of biodiversity we might expect on reefs worldwide by the end

:11:10.:11:13.

of the century. I am extremely surprised by how poor destruction

:11:14.:11:20.

is. I am used to seeing a lot of groups, a lot of different crabs and

:11:21.:11:27.

molluscs, but here I only see a few. A day later, the team examined

:11:28.:11:31.

material from the unpredicted site. The difference is startling. Today,

:11:32.:11:38.

this trade is full of organisms. Lots of different species. `` tray.

:11:39.:11:46.

It is very diverse. All of these tiny species, they are the building

:11:47.:11:49.

blocks of the diversity of the reef. They are the base of the food

:11:50.:11:57.

chain. Some of the most humble species play a crucial role by

:11:58.:12:02.

glueing the reef together. They are in abundance here at the unpolluted

:12:03.:12:10.

site. This is covered in a lot of different organisms. We have

:12:11.:12:16.

sponges, , it is very colourful. It provides the matrix, the building

:12:17.:12:22.

blocks for other organisms to come and hide and live, basically.

:12:23.:12:34.

To work is not finished, but it is a warning about how CO2 will affect

:12:35.:12:42.

marine life, a warning that will be heard by scientists worldwide, and

:12:43.:12:47.

welcomed by the people in the front line.

:12:48.:13:23.

Australia, like other nations, is slowly waking up to ocean

:13:24.:13:31.

acidification. I have tracked the acid oceans story for nearly a

:13:32.:13:34.

decade now, but it is still largely unknown to the public. As with

:13:35.:13:40.

climate change, some of the science of acidification is very firm, but

:13:41.:13:46.

in other areas there is uncertainty. Could the risks of ocean

:13:47.:13:49.

acidification have been exaggerated? That is a question that

:13:50.:13:53.

has brought me here, to Townsville on the north`east coast of

:13:54.:13:58.

Australia. It is a major centre for Reef research. It looks like with

:13:59.:14:06.

the most difficult part is catching a fish. In one trial here, at James

:14:07.:14:11.

Cook University, a research is chasing a fish to see if acidifying

:14:12.:14:15.

the sea effects its athletic ability. It is definitely tired.

:14:16.:14:24.

This government funded university produced a controversial report last

:14:25.:14:28.

year, which was seized on by climate change sceptics. Professor Terry

:14:29.:14:37.

O'Neill revealed that some corals could still survive under more

:14:38.:14:41.

acidic conditions. Sceptics said it proved that fears for the Reef were

:14:42.:14:49.

overblown. Was this true? There is nothing in the study that has said

:14:50.:14:53.

that climate change and boson, ocean acidification is a huge problem for

:14:54.:14:59.

coral reefs, so my science was misrepresented in that sense. The

:15:00.:15:04.

study we did was to look at the mix of corals, and the result we found

:15:05.:15:09.

was surprising to us. It shows that it is very flexible, in terms of

:15:10.:15:14.

which species are abundant all rare at any particular location. Species

:15:15.:15:18.

compensate for each other, so if one becomes more abundant, another

:15:19.:15:23.

becomes less so, and the overall abundance of all the species

:15:24.:15:26.

combined is about the same everywhere. So you have the same

:15:27.:15:29.

amount of total cover of coral in the Coral Reef, why should we worry?

:15:30.:15:34.

There is good news in that there is winners as well as loses, but the

:15:35.:15:42.

most susceptible corals to global warming and ocean acidification are

:15:43.:15:46.

branching corals and table corals. They are the ones that make all the

:15:47.:15:50.

nooks and crannies that provide the habitat for fish and other

:15:51.:15:54.

creatures. So that means less fish for a hungry population? That is a

:15:55.:15:59.

likely scenario, and also because of the direct impact on the physiology

:16:00.:16:03.

of the fish themselves. It seems that more than a third of coral

:16:04.:16:06.

species May not survive the acidification. This new facility in

:16:07.:16:14.

Townsville is taking research to a higher level. It is analysing what

:16:15.:16:19.

will happen in future, when the ocean becomes more acidic, and

:16:20.:16:26.

warmer at the same time. This is a brand`new building to try to address

:16:27.:16:31.

the issue of ocean acidification. We are meeting up again with the

:16:32.:16:35.

scientist who is analysing results from the field. We still know very

:16:36.:16:41.

little of what ocean acidification actually does to different

:16:42.:16:45.

lifestages, and we can use the organisms we are keeping here, put

:16:46.:16:48.

them under controlled conditions, and then test what to richer and

:16:49.:16:53.

ocean acidification does to these organisms. What we can do is

:16:54.:16:58.

manipulate things like nutrients, sedimentation, the carbon dioxide in

:16:59.:17:01.

the water and the temperature, to try to find it in these controlled

:17:02.:17:08.

facilities. It is already clear that there is a wide variation in the way

:17:09.:17:14.

this little spec is actually a baby born. It is very sensitive to ocean

:17:15.:17:21.

acidification. It can't grow and will die in areas of high

:17:22.:17:26.

acidification. Scientists are finding more and more that a lot of

:17:27.:17:31.

species and ecosystems are likely to be highly affected by a ocean

:17:32.:17:37.

acidification. They find it very difficult to predict what is going

:17:38.:17:40.

to happen. Carbon dioxide levels are increasing very rapidly. We already

:17:41.:17:46.

have 30% more acidic water than before the industrial revolution.

:17:47.:17:50.

The predicted changes are that it will be 150% more acidic by 2050,

:17:51.:17:57.

that is not very far away. It is clear that many species won't

:17:58.:17:59.

survive increased acidity. Others will thrive. We have both corals and

:18:00.:18:07.

sponges ranging from tiny little babies right through to adults.

:18:08.:18:12.

Nicole Webster is studying the effects of CO2 and capture on

:18:13.:18:16.

sponges. Our hypothesis is that as corals declined under climate

:18:17.:18:20.

change, sponges may actually do better. This tiny animal here is a

:18:21.:18:26.

one`year`old sponge. This sponge is jampacked with tiny microscopic

:18:27.:18:29.

bacteria that actually contribute to the nutrition of the animal. What we

:18:30.:18:33.

are proposing is that these bacteria may photosynthesise more under high

:18:34.:18:37.

CO2, enabling the sponges to grow faster than Jupiter in a high CO2

:18:38.:18:42.

world. That sounds like it could be a good thing for it really depends.

:18:43.:18:48.

They essentially filter the Reef, and there is contaminants or

:18:49.:18:52.

pollution in the water, they can be very sensitive to that because they

:18:53.:18:54.

are filtering those compounds out of the water. They can also

:18:55.:18:58.

potentially, there is a huge biomass of sponges, create feeding shadows,

:18:59.:19:03.

which are areas where they have removed all the nutrients out of the

:19:04.:19:07.

water, and they wouldn't provide sufficient nutrition for other

:19:08.:19:10.

animals that live on the Reef. Basically, too many sponges could

:19:11.:19:17.

threaten the Reef. So, it is a gamble we are taking. It is

:19:18.:19:20.

impossible to gauge exactly what will happen as we change the

:19:21.:19:24.

chemistry of the world's biggest ecosystem of the oceans. The world

:19:25.:19:29.

is still struggling to reach agreement on cutting carbon dioxide

:19:30.:19:36.

emissions. Australia's previous Labour government supported a deal,

:19:37.:19:43.

and introduced a carbon tax. But the new government was elected with a

:19:44.:19:47.

mandate to cut those, and is cutting funds for climate science. CO2 is a

:19:48.:19:53.

big issue, and it is of great concern of all the governments in

:19:54.:19:57.

one way or another. But ocean acidification, being so slow, does

:19:58.:20:02.

not appear. What is much more important to our government, this

:20:03.:20:07.

particular government, is protecting coal, and pushing coal is the main

:20:08.:20:10.

form of energy. They are not interested really in alternative

:20:11.:20:17.

energy. Ian is an historian, specialising in the environment. He

:20:18.:20:21.

is an outspoken critic of the government. The dependence of coal

:20:22.:20:28.

going out to China is the core economic policy of the government at

:20:29.:20:31.

the moment. Do you see anything changing this? I think the thing

:20:32.:20:35.

that would change it would be catastrophes on one site, more

:20:36.:20:41.

extreme bushfires, cyclones and so on. The other would be the fact that

:20:42.:20:45.

very many people in the rural sector are now becoming concerned about

:20:46.:20:51.

coal fracking and the influence of that kind of mining, particularly on

:20:52.:20:55.

groundwater. So, they are starting to become resistant to the idea of

:20:56.:20:59.

driving these sorts of industrial businesses. We contacted the

:21:00.:21:07.

Australian government, but they haven't offered a comment. The new

:21:08.:21:12.

PM, Tony Abbott, has been quoted as saying, we don't know how much

:21:13.:21:21.

humans have caused climate change. Back at the research site in Papua,

:21:22.:21:28.

there is a very different perspective on what science can tell

:21:29.:21:35.

us. What I know is a scientist is, what we are recording here is pure

:21:36.:21:39.

chemistry and physics. The carbon dioxide in the air is going into the

:21:40.:21:44.

ocean and making it more acidic, because it is one chemical of carbon

:21:45.:21:47.

dioxide, one of water. It forms carbonic acid.

:21:48.:22:03.

I think we have an ethical responsibility to look after the

:22:04.:22:12.

biodiversity on earth. We have the responsibility to allow our

:22:13.:22:16.

grandchildren to see coral reefs as they are today, in their whole

:22:17.:22:23.

colour and beauty and diversity. And think it is a matter of us taking

:22:24.:22:26.

stock of what we're really doing to world, and realising it is

:22:27.:22:28.

irreversible. We have been flagging up the

:22:29.:23:04.

potential for heavy downpours were a few days now, and the detail will be

:23:05.:23:07.

quite difficult through the weekend

:23:08.:23:09.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS