Gulf Corals May Face Massive Die-Off

By Dennis J. Wamsted

In the wake of the Gulf war between Iraq and the US-led allied coalition, environmentalists and policymakers alike decried the damage done to the region's fragile desert lands and Gulf waters. Efforts to clean up the region have focused on extinguishing the roughly 700 oil well fires the withdrawing Iraqis left behind them in Kuwait, and on capturing the unburned oil that has spilled from damaged wells in the region.

Until now, little has been said of the threat to the region's coral reefs, which play a key role in sustaining the unique Gulf ecosystem. Scientists from the European Oceanographic Center at Monaco's Musee Oceanographique warn, however, that an entire ecosystem may be imperiled.

According to professors Francois Doumenge, the director of the Musee, and Jean Jaubert, director of the facility's coral reef research effort, Gulf corals are gravely threatened by the war's aftermath. In particular, Jaubert, one of the first officials to inspect the region's coral following the war, said that reductions in surface temperature, which can be linked to the smoke from the oil well fires, may lead to a lowering of Gulf water temperatures this winter.

A significant drop in sea temperature could lead to a massive die-off of Gulf coral, which already live in water temperatures several degrees cooler than most of the coral found in other tropical and subtropical regions. "Even a drop of several degrees centigrade could result in mass mortality in the coral ecosystem of the Gulf," Jaubert told a press conference in Monaco in early July.

Although it is still hard to predict winter water temperatures, the scientists expect some decline because the Gulf, a relatively shallow, enclosed body of water, is principally heated by the sun and not from oceanborne currents. The smoke-filled clouds that have shrouded much of the Gulf over the past several months have interfered with this warming process, with potentially huge implications. "We think the present conditions already are demonstrating that temperatures will be significantly lower next winter," Doumenge said.

The island of Bahrain—some 250 miles southeast of Kuwait—had its coolest May in some 35 years—almost 7.5 degrees Fahrenheit below average.

Significant die-off among the Gulf's coral reefs could imperil the region's already threatened marine life, added Doumenge. "A coral reef is really a complex and integrated community," he said, explaining that corals provide habitat for numerous species of fish, plants and crustaceans.

'Every member of that community is critical to the well-being of every other species.

Current research at the facility is centered on understanding the similarities and differences between Gulf coral and species found elsewhere. In this manner, if there is a catastrophic die-off in the region this winter, it may be possible to replenish some or all of the area's coral reefs.

The Musee Oceanographique, which opened in 1910, is one of the world's leading centers for coral reef research, and is credited with creating the world's first self-sustaining living coral reef. The museum is examining the possibility of bringing an entire living reef from the Gulf to Monaco for further study.

Dennis J. Wamsted is the editor of Environmental Week, a Washington, DC-based business newsletter.